'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire': Jimmy Kimmel claims Regis Philbin came in his dreams, told him to be the host
ABC's 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' is returning to screens for a 20th anniversary edition with Jimmy Kimmel hosting. According to the popular talk show host, Regis Philbin, the iconic host of 'Millionaire', came to him in a dream and asked him to take the job, Variety reports.
"Regis came to me in a dream, asked me to do this and promised my own line of neckties if I did. I had little choice but to say yes,” Kimmel said.
Besides Philbin — whose monochrome outfits and catchphrase ("Is that your final answer?") have become a part of pop culture — 'Millionaire' has also been hosted by Meredith Vieira, Cedric the Entertainer, Terry Crews, and Chris Harrison in its syndicated weekday format. The 2020 edition will reportedly be executive produced by Kimmel, Michael Davies, and Mike Richards.
Despite its popularity in the early 2000s, this will be the first time 'Millionaire' has been seen on ABC in primetime since a 10th anniversary run in 2009. The daytime syndicated version of the show ended on May 31, 2019.
Based on a British show, 'Millionaire' originally premiered on ABC in the summer of 1999 as a special. Its quick rise to the top of the Nielsen ratings allowed the show to return as an additional series of special events in the 1999-2000 TV season before becoming a regular series on the network. At its height, 'Millionaire' drew nearly 30 million viewers an episode, taking ABC to the top of the ratings and kicking off the reality TV craze in the US.
The new episodes will premiere in April and will reportedly be featuring celebrity contestants playing for charity. There will be two important changes made to the format of the show this year: firstly, the celebrity contestants can now bring a friend or relative as a guest to help them out in the hot seat and secondly, viewers can now compete to win the same amount of money that celebrities are playing for on the show using a live play-along app.
'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' will return on Wednesday, April 8.
