Million Dollar Password: Regis Philbin Series Returning; Will It Be Back Next Season?

CBS has announced that its’ Password remake will return to the airwaves later this month. Will host Regis Philbin and the game show be back next season?

Million Dollar Password premiered on June 1, 2008 to 10.69 million viewers. The ratings dropped a bit after that but CBS still ordered six additional episodes for the 2008-09 season. Year two kicked off in December and the show hadn’t lost any steam.

Still, the network pulled the show after only four of the six had aired. While the overall viewership was still strong, the audience does tend to skew older. The network typically attracts an older demographic and is always looking to shift towards younger viewers that are more attractive to advertisers.

CBS has announced that Million Dollar Password will be returning on May 24th. For right now, only the two remaining episodes are scheduled; with Jamie Kennedy and Norm MacDonald, and Jeff Garlin and Chelsea Handler as the celebrity players.

If those perform well, the network may air some of the previous episodes but don’t expect to see Million Dollar Password return in the Fall.

Philbin renewed his contract for co-hosting ABC’s Live with Regis and Kelly in November. Part of the deal significantly restricted his ability to work on other shows that are not produced by Disney (which owns ABC). Unless there is a pre-existing deal still in place, that contract would prevent him from returning to CBS’ Million Dollar Password.

So, based on the game show’s demographic and Philbin’s unlikely availability, Million Dollar Password won’t be back next season. However, if you’re a fan of Philbin-hosted game shows, ABC has announced that Who Wants to Be a Millionaire will return for a limited run in August.