Who Wants to Be Millionaire: Cancelled After 17 Years in Syndication

(Ronda Churchill / Disney-ABC Home Entertainment and TV Distribution)

Talk about a final answer. The daytime, syndicated version of the Who Wants to be a Millionaire TV show has been cancelled, so it will not return for the 2019-2020 television season. The game show originally premiered in August of 1999 as an ABC primetime TV series, hosted by Regis Philbin, before its cancellation in June of 2002. It then returned to air as a syndicated daytime game show, in September of that year, and where it has enjoyed a long, prosperous run.

Syndicated by Disney-ABC Home Entertainment and TV Distribution, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is currently hosted by Chris Harrison of Bachelor fame. Meredith Vieira was its first host in syndication from 2002 to 2013, followed by Terry Crews for two years, before Harrison assumed the podium in September of 2015. During the quiz show, contestants attempt to answer a series of 14 questions, with each one worth more money than the last. They generally can employ three lifelines (currently “Ask the Audience,” “50:50,” and “Plus One”) to help them on their journey toward the million dollar grand prize. Notably, there have been very few $1,000,000 winners in the total of 20-year life of the game show. .

Variety reports:

“Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” is coming to an end.

Variety has learned exclusively that the syndicated game show has been canceled. To date, it has aired nearly 3,000 episodes, including over 300 when the show aired on ABC.

“After a successful 17-year run, ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ will not return in national syndication for the 2019-20 season,” a show spokesperson told Variety.

What do you think? Were you still watching the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire game show TV series? If it were up to you, would it be cancelled or renewed for the 2019-2020 television season?