Season 18

[Tim0n]

I was thinking about this a while back in the reference to leaked Sony emails. Honestly, I'm hoping the US version to sink and be rebooted 3(? maybe this has changed) years later by someone who will just use the darn classic format properly. The only thing that I'd miss in this scenario is Chris Harrison, since he's proven himself a fairly good host.

[millionairenut]

I would be alright with a three year wait, if and only if the classic format is revived.


So many countries are bringing Millionaire back. Many shows in America are getting revived perhaps even a decade or more after it went away.

Why can't the game as we love it be brought back here? Whose idea was it to change everything?

[TruelyMostWanted]

Well... Let me add something..
Browsing through the years, normally the news for "WWTBAM Renewed" came around in Mid of January. Like here:
www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/abc-renews-who-wants-be-a-millionaire-17th-season-1075368

These tweets make it pretty mysterious... why does it take so long?
Is Disney again fighting with Sony like in 2015? reducing the costs and sony saying No Deal?

For those who dont know what i'm talking about, checkout this article of 2015 to get informations
about the little problem they had:
www.google.com/amp/buzzerblog.com/2015/04/17/what-millionaire-needed-to-stay-on-the-air/%3famp_markup=1
That was a reason why they kept everything from shuffle onwards until today.

And judging by the results from my youtube channel.. its probably... negative..
many love that i post the videos, but there is that many criticism in the comments about the show and its changes...

i'd say its pretty unclear what will happen. I'd love to see the format getting cancelled AND revived immediatly or 1-2-3years later by Sony/2waytraffic in its classic style. Hopefully with Chris Harrison as host. Reviving that means of course no more youtube uploads due to "Sony Claims Everything of them and strikes it" But yeah..
I wish they would change ownership to Sony and let it get produced by maybe EndemolShine NorthAmerica, like DOND from Universal Orlando Resort.

As much as i'd like to see a new US WWTBAM , i'd like to see a continuation of the show.

[hadouken85]

I still, still want them to celebrate its 20th anniversary, with the classic format back and Chris Harrison as host again.
He is good for the show, but unfortunately in the time when it has already gone downhill.(And I still can't believe that generic soundtrack's survived this long...)

Feb 1, 2019 21:38:51 GMT -5 TruelyMostWanted said:

... And judging by the results from my youtube channel.. its probably... negative..
many love that i post the videos, but there is that many criticism in the comments about the show and its changes...

I, too, was about to say something really negative when the first episodes were uploaded... 

[rifkialqadri]

and maybe with the new "Ask the Host" lifeline? oh Gosh, I want to see Chris Harrison vomiting his thoughts at one particular question.

[RegisFan]

I can’t believe it’s been almost ten years since the Shuffle format debuted and we’re still feeling the effects. Having such an amateurish presentation (especially musically, though not exclusively) has undoubtedly hurt the brand by this point. Not to mention the Cedric and Terry years, which were such a tonal low point of the show trying to be something it’s not. Disney either needs to work with Sony to invest in the format and bring back classic elements to reboot it properly or let it go and allow Sony to produce their own show.

[Gagamillionaire]

Feb 2, 2019 23:04:58 GMT -5 RegisFan said:

I can’t believe it’s been almost ten years since the Shuffle format debuted and we’re still feeling the effects. Having such an amateurish presentation (especially musically, though not exclusively) has undoubtedly hurt the brand by this point. Not to mention the Cedric and Terry years, which were such a tonal low point of the show trying to be something it’s not. Disney either needs to work with Sony to invest in the format and bring back classic elements to reboot it properly or let it go and allow Sony to produce their own show.

I know this is not the popular opinion, but I think UK post-2007 Chris Tarrant Millionaire did much more damage to the brand than the Shuffle format or whatever came after on the US version. And it has nothing to do with the rave soundtrack or the minor changes to the format. The show just became completely forgettable after that point. Nobody won anything. Nothing remarkable happened. And that goddamn clock made things even worse (just like in the US years earlier). The producers showed no real interest in making the show any more exciting and, most importantly, winnable. And it's the same with US Millionaire now: The content is flawed, not the presentation. What do I care about what music plays when a contestant wins the million (or even $50,000) if nobody ever gets there in the first place? People have to be able to win the game. If the producers make the questions too hard and only cast people with "stories", that won't happen. You can fret about the Shuffle format and the music and the set all you want (and if you don't do it here, where else? - in my opinion, the producers at least tried to be innovative), but if nobody had gotten past the second milestone on the first episodes in 1998, with the Hotseat and the classic soundtrack and set, the hype would've ended pretty quickly.



I'm not saying US Millionaire isn't unwatchable, but the issue is much more fundamental. And yes, the show should be canceled and brought back the way most people remember it. In the end, though, a strange but winnable Millionaire can be gripping, a nostalgia-filled parade of $1,000 winners not.

[tkftguillotine]

If I can vomit my unrefined thoughts out for a minute, Sony taking over Millionaire seems like too big of a risk to me.

Now, I'm not in the camp that wants this version of Millionaire that's currently on air to last. It's still a show with poor presentation, absurdly difficult questions, and a lack of winnings. But should ABC retire the show and reboot it themselves, I think that could have a greater effect than Sony producing a US version. Now, if we can go back to pre-Shuffle for a bit, we all might remember the things that ABC added into Classic. I'm not talking gameplay changes, although of course there was Switch, but I'm talking the minor polishing here and there that kept the show's presentation feeling fresh. The animations on the money tree, the screen in the studio, the golden text in the money earned strap. It was the same show, it just felt new. Come 2008 we saw the clock come in, with completely overhauled graphics and remixes of the music that *didn't stray from the style of the originals.* Meanwhile, what did nearly every other country get around 2007-08? Bland, flat, blue graphics, and a weird electronic theme tune, alongside super generic bangs and crashes for question background music. Should ABC rest the show and attempt to reboot it, the chances of us getting something with the spirit of the classic show seem much greater to me than Sony giving us the same thing, ESPECIALLY with the quality of ABC's primetime gameshow lineup. If Sony ends up in charge of Millionaire in the USA, I can't help but think we'll end up with the Rave-style presentation, which I dislike almost to the same degree as what we've got now.

In summary, I'm hoping for ABC to take the initiative on their own to reboot the show, rather than for Sony to do so, or god forbid for a Season 18 renewal. Hopefully the news comes soon.

[RegisFan]

The problem is that Disney has to keep producing the show in order to prevent the rights from returning to Sony. I don’t think “let it rest and reboot it three years later” is an option.

Also, I attribute the years of clever updates to the presence of Michael Davies. He knew what made the show work. Things went downhill quickly when he left.

[FinalAnswer19]

Feb 12, 2019 23:19:20 GMT -5 RegisFan said:

Things went downhill quickly when he left.

That's putting it lightly.  "Shoved off a cliff" would be my word choice...

[trevor]

I'd also like to see the US show put out of its misery, and get a fresh start in 2021 maybe. I just can't bear to see the show die such a painful death. But ABC should do it. Sony would give us "Rave" or god forbid Hot Seat.

[kplewisvox]

Feb 19, 2019 23:20:29 GMT -5 trevor said:

I'd also like to see the US show put out of its misery, and get a fresh start in 2021 maybe. I just can't bear to see the show die such a painful death. But ABC should do it. Sony would give us "Rave" or god forbid Hot Seat.

I don't think that's an option. Three years after cancelation, it will be Sony's production. That is if I understand correctly.

[retched]

Feb 20, 2019 15:40:55 GMT -5 kplewisvox said:

Feb 19, 2019 23:20:29 GMT -5 trevor said:

I'd also like to see the US show put out of its misery, and get a fresh start in 2021 maybe. I just can't bear to see the show die such a painful death. But ABC should do it. Sony would give us "Rave" or god forbid Hot Seat.

I don't think that's an option. Three years after cancelation, it will be Sony's production. That is if I understand correctly.

The three year thing isn't really specified anyway except for Sony's original plan to ice the program and then reboot. (Similar to what they did with the UK.)

However, Sony could make the decision to relaunch on another network immediately provided there isn't a no compete clause to contend with. (Case in point: American Idol's resurgence on FOX)

[millionairenut]

If this current syndication show is cancelled and Sony brings back the old Millionaire, sign me up.

[jepm4sta]

Hey everybody, I honestly don’t know if this means anything or not, but I went to the on camera audiences website that was selling tickets for Millionaire? And I happened to see this message:

THIS SHOW IS ON HIATUS.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire will return to Las Vegas in 2019. Please submit your information below to join the list and we will notify you when tickets become available. Thank you!

If this is true, then maybe it’s going to get renewed after all