History Main / WhoWantsToBeWhoWantsToBeAMillionaire

* ''Studio 7'': A 2004 Creator/TheWB game/reality hybrid, created by the same mind behind ''Millionaire'' and hosted by newscaster Pat Kiernan. Seven young adults would live together in a luxury apartment in New York City for one week (with loads of study material) and then, at the studio, would answer questions mostly of contemporary knowledge (on the 2001-2004 timeline). There was also a round about a given specialized subject and a memorization challenge (revolving an extended list of items). Each player received a silver ring at the beginning, which could be used to ask another player for help (by [[RuleOfCool tossing the ring into the "Pool of the 7"]]). Each of the first seven episodes had a grand prize of $77,000, and an eighth episode featured the last seven winners going for an extra $777,000. A second season was planned to air right after the first, but never aired due to low ratings.

* ''Studio 7'': A 2004 Creator/TheWB game/reality hybrid, created by the same mind behind ''Millionaire'' and hosted by newscaster Pat Kiernan. Seven young adults would live together in a luxury apartment in New York City for one week (with loads of study material) and then, at the studio, would answer questions mostly of contemporary knowledge (on the 2001-2004 timeline). There was also a round about a given specialized subject and a memorization challenge (revolving an extended list of items). Each player received a silver ring at the beginning, which could be used to ask another player for help (by [[RuleOfCool tossing the ring into the "Pool of the 7"]]). Each of the first seven episodes had a grand prize of $77,000, and an eighth episode featured the last seven winners going for an extra $777,000. A second season was planned, but never aired due to low ratings.

* ''Studio 7'': A 2004 Creator/TheWB game/reality hybrid, created by the same mind behind ''Millionaire'' and hosted by newscaster Creator/PatKiernan. Seven young adults would live together in a luxury apartment in New York City for one week (with loads of study material) and then, at the studio, would answer questions mostly of contemporary knowledge (on the 2001-2004 timeline). There was also a round about a given specialized subject and a memorization challenge (revolving an extended list of items). Each player received a silver ring at the beginning, which could be used to ask another player for help (by [[RuleOfCool tossing the ring into the "Pool of the 7"]]). Each of the first seven episodes had a grand prize of $77,000, and an eighth episode featured the last seven winners going for an extra $777,000. A second season was planned, but never aired due to low ratings.

* ''Himmel oder Hölle'' (''Heaven or Hell''): ''Millionaire'' meets a much DarkerAndEdgier ''Series/DoubleDare1986''. A single contestant (in season 3, team of two) faces ten levels to win a €50,000 grand prize. On each level, they may elect to "stay in Heaven" (answer a given multiple-choice question) or "go to Hell" (not answer the question, but perform a rather painful stunt, such as playing basketball with cacti, getting a bad haircut or going through an electrified maze). Broadcasted on the German channel [=ProSieben=]; hosted by Creator/JochenSchropp (Heaven) and Creator/EvelynWeigert (Hell).

* ''Series/{{Duel}}'': ''Millionaire'' meets TabletopGame/{{Poker}}. Players compete for a growing jackpot by defeating opponents in a multiple-choice quiz. The second season enhanced the comparison even further by awarding the jackpot to winners of five consecutive matches. Defeated champs who had won at least three matches had their winnings cut in half; otherwise, it was AllOrNothing.

* ''Series/TheOneMillionChanceOfALifetime'' both subverted it (because it premiered in 1986) ''and'' played it straight; you had the dramatic fanfares, the massive confetti drops, the family in the audience. But there weren't any Lifelines, and no money ladder; rather, champions had to be on for three days and play the bonus round on their third day to get the million- which wasn't even a lump sum but rather an annuity and, for the second season, an annuity worth $900,000 in total plus $100,000 in various prizes, including two cars. Indeed, it was more of a normal game show which just happened to have a really big set and top prize (apparently it started as a 1979 pilot called ''The Letter Machine''. The British version, ''All Clued Up'', similarly went in a low-stakes direction).

* ''Series/TheAdamAndJoeShow'' featured a Star Wars parody where Chewbacca took part in "the galaxy's top rated game show" called ''Who Wants To Be Killed On Air?'' -- get a question wrong, [[DeadlyGame prepare to die!!!]]

* ''Series/{{Futurama}}'' episode "The Duh-Vinci Code" saw Fry appearing on ''Who Dares To Be A Millionaire?'' (hosted by Morbo) and failing the very first question.

* ''Series/TheAdamAndJoeShow'' featured a Star Wars parody where Chewbacca took part in "the galaxy's top rated game show": ''Who Wants To Be Killed On Air?'' --- get a question wrong, [[DeadlyGame "PREPARE TO DIE!"]]

-->'''[[Creator/JimmyKimmel Jimmy Kimmel]]:''' If you are too stupid to answer the questions in this round, we've got three ways to help you cheat. Number one, [[IntimateTelecommunications you can dial 1-900-ASS-PARTY]]; they may not have the answers, but it is a lot of fun. Number two, you could poll our audience, [[TakeThatAudience but they're really only good if it's a drug question.]] And, number three, you can ask me, [[SelfDeprecation but that's not usually much help either.]]

** Australia's 2008 revival not only saw a set and soundtrack change, but a $1,000,000 top prize was added.

** Stempel attempted to expose the fraud, but it wasn't until a SmokingGun exposing coaching on another quiz show, ''Series/{{Dotto}}'', that he was taken seriously. The scandal was a GenreKiller for the big-money game show, with networks preferring more low-stakes games and more control over productions; it took until the 1970's for shows such as ''[[Series/{{Pyramid}} The $10,000 Pyramid]]'' to break the five-figure barrier again, while the 1986 ''Series/TheOneMillionChanceOfALifetime'' was the first to break the seven-figure barrier as an annuity (but as mentioned, besides the bonus round, it was otherwise a typical game show of the era). In the 1990's, an Creator/{{ABC}} executive was actively considering reviving ''Question'', until he caught wind of ''Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?'', and decided to pursue a U.S. version of that instead. CBS filmed a pilot for a revival in 2000 to capitalize on ''Millionaire'' (with a top prize of $1,028,000), but it didn't make it to air (and as mentioned, the network ultimately decided to order a big-money version of ''Series/WinningLines'' -- another series from the studio behind ''Millionaire'').

* The short-lived game show based on the video game series ''VideoGame/YouDontKnowJack'' ([[BitingTheHandHumor which aired on ABC, no less]]) lampooned ''Millionaire'' with a "$2,000,000 Question" during its second round, where the value of the question would start at $2 million and decrease in value until someone answered it. However, the countdown started when [[Creator/PaulReubens the host]] '''began''' reading the question, and he would inevitably be [[{{Padding}} disrupted by a gag to pad things out]] (such as being attacked by ninjas), leaving it only worth around $200 or less (a fraction of the value of most ''normal'' questions) when he actually did finish reading the question.
** Regis Philbin even made a voice cameo in the first episode, calling the host to congratulate him on his new show.

* The short-lived game show based on the video game series ''VideoGame/YouDontKnowJack'' ([[BitingTheHandHumor which aired on ABC, no less]]) lampooned ''Millionaire'' with a "$2,000,000 Question" during its second round, where the value of the question would start at $2 million and decrease in value until someone answered it. However, the countdown started when [[Creator/PaulReubens the host]] '''began''' reading the question, and he would inevitably be [[{{Padding}} disrupted by a gag to pad things out]] (such as the being attacked by ninjas), leaving it only worth around $200 or less (a fraction of the value of most ''normal'' questions) when he actually does finish reading the question.

* ''Series/PakDePoenDeShowVan1Miljoen'' is a subversion. It was a Belgian game show financed by the national lottery that included a top price of 1 million BF that in its first round looks more like a contest. However the final round, where the only still standing contestant is trying to get his price of 1 million BF, is straight-up this, as the contestant gets a lifeline (in the form of switching one question for another) to answer 10 questions and he would win $100,000 per correct question, but if he fails to answer a question correctly he would only gain the money that he had won with previous ones. The 100 questions were also arranged in separate packages of 10. It's a subversion because the show was made in 1987, 10 years before ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'' debuted.

* ''Power Of 10'': Players answered survey questions to win up to ''ten'' million dollars "by the [[TitleDrop power of 10]]". The aim was to accurately guess how a national sample polled on a question with the margin decreasing for each new question: a 40% range for the $1,000 question, 30% for $10,000, 20% for $100,000, and 10% for the final, $1,000,000 question. The $10,000,000 prize was for any player who could provide the ''exact'' percentage for that final question. Missing a question ($100k onwards) decreased the prize, also "by the power of 10".

* ''Power Of 10'': Players answered survey questions to win up to ''ten'' million dollars "by the [[TitleDrop power of 10]]". The aim was to accurately guess how a national sample polled on a question with the margin decreasing for each new question: a 40% range for the $1,000 question, 30% for $10,000, 20% for $100,000, and 10% for the $1,000,000 question. The $10,000,000 prize was for any player who could provide the ''exact'' percentage for that last question. Missing a question decreases the prize also "by the power of 10".

* ''Power Of 10'': Players answered survey questions to win up to ''ten'' million dollars.

The oversaturation of ''Millionaire''-styled game show clones largely withered away during TheNewTens, as contemporary game shows since that point have largely reverted to more conventional formats.

* The short-lived game show based on the video game series ''VideoGame/YouDontKnowJack'' ([[BitingTheHandHumor which aired on ABC, no less]]) lampooned ''Millionaire'' with a "$2,000,000 Question" during its second round, where the value of the question would start at $2 million and decrease in value until someone answered it. However, the countdown started when [[Creator/PaulReubens the host]] '''began''' to read the question, [[{{Padding}} and was inevitably disrupted by a gag to pad things out]] (such as the host being attacked by ninjas), leaving it worth around $200 or less (a fraction of the value of most ''normal'' questions) when he actually did read the question.

* ''Das Quiz mit Jörg Pilawa'' (''The Quiz with Jörg Pilawa''): A highly straightforward imitator from the German free-to-air network [=ARD1=], premiering in 2001 (two years after RTL acquired the rights to ''Millionaire'' and shortly after Jörg Pilawa, the presenter, left ''Die Quiz Show'' -- the German version of the aforementioned ''It’s Your Chance Of A Lifetime''). Distinctions include: teams of two instead of a solo person play (with each question played by one member, then the other gets to decide whether to agree or to use a Veto to reject and change the answer; roles switch for every next level), a money tree with twelve levels (in which the players themselves choose two safety nets before starting the game) for a grand prize originally at 500,000 DM (then €300,000 from 2002 to 2010, down to €50,000 for the 2020-2021 revival) and instead of lifelines are four "Vetos", each of which can be used to override a given answer; one Veto can alternatively switch the current question out. The show was also vastly popular among German viewers; [[HomeGame DVD, video and board game versions]] have also been released.

* ''Series/Studio7'': A 2004 Creator/TheWB game/reality hybrid, created by the same mind behind ''Millionaire'' and hosted by newscaster Creator/PatKiernan. Seven young adults would live together in a luxury apartment in New York City for one week (with loads of study material) and then, at the studio, would answer questions mostly of contemporary knowledge (on the 2001-2004 timeline). There was also a round about a given specialized subject and a memorization challenge (revolving an extended list of items). Each player received a silver ring at the beginning, which could be used to ask another player for help (by [[RuleOfCool tossing the ring into the "Pool of the 7"]]). Each of the first seven episodes had a grand prize of $77,000, and an eighth episode featured the last seven winners going for an extra $777,000. A second season was planned, but never aired due to low ratings.

* ''Series/Studio7'': A 2004 Creator/TheWB game/reality hybrid, created by the same mind behind ''Millionaire'' and hosted by newscaster Creator/PatKiernan. Seven young adults would live together in a luxury apartment in New York City for one week (with loads of study material) and then, at the studio, would answer questions mostly of contemporary knowledge (on the 2001-2004 timeline). There was also a round about a given specialized subject and a memorization challenge (revolving an extended list of items). Each player received a silver ring at the beginning, which could be used to ask another player for help (by [[RuleOfCool tossing the ring into the "Pool of the 7"]]).
Each of the first seven episodes had a grand prize of $77,000, and an eighth episode featured the last seven winners going for an extra $777,000. A second season was planned, but never aired due to low ratings.

* ''Series/Studio7'': A 2004 Creator/{{TheWB}} game/reality hybrid, created by the same mind behind ''Millionaire'' and hosted by newscaster Creator/PatKiernan. Seven young adults would live together in a luxury apartment in New York City for one week (with loads of study material) and then, at the studio, would answer questions mostly of contemporary knowledge (on the 2001-2004 timeline). There was also a round about a given specialized subject and a memorization challenge (revolving an extended list of items). Each player received a silver ring at the beginning, which could be used to ask another player for help (by [[RuleOfCool tossing the ring into the "Pool of the 7"]]).

In 1999, things were looking bleak for the American GameShow genre. There were no prime-time network game shows, and the only shows around on the networks and syndication were holdovers from the 1970s and 1980s — ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'', Whoopi Goldberg's ''Series/TheHollywoodSquares'' revival, the new (and lamest) ''Series/MatchGame'' revival, and evergreens ''Series/WheelOfFortune'' and ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}''. Cable games weren't faring much better -- most of the networks had either cancelled them (Creator/{{Lifetime}}, [[Creator/{{Freeform}} Fox Family]]), were shying away from game shows (Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}), or had completely rid themselves of them (Creator/USANetwork). Even Creator/{{GSN}} was at a low point, with several originals being either cancelled or not very good at all, and having just come out of their "Dark Period" where they lost the rights to almost every [[Creator/MarkGoodson Goodson-Todman]] show.

* ''Series/{{Greed}}'': One of the first major imitations; co-created by Dick Clark for Creator/{{FOX}} and hosted by Chuck Woolery of ''Series/WheelOfFortune'' fame, it featured teams playing to split up to ''two'' million dollars. The first four questions played out like ''Millionaire'', but with each question answered sequentially by the team members, a designated captain given the responsibility to accept the guess or veto it in favor of their own, and the third and fourth questions having five options instead of four. The final four questions require teams to select four correct answers out of a selection of six, then seven, then eight, and finally ''nine'' options, which is as difficult as it sounds. Plus, a "Terminator" round is played after each question, allowing a randomly-selected team member to challenge someone else for a chance to win their share of the prize money (at the expense of eliminating the loser).

* ''Moment of Truth'': The hopefuls were called upon to answer highly embarrassing and potentially damaging questions about themselves (affairs and past crimes were common subjects), with a prize structure similar to that on ''Millionaire'' (and pyramid schemes, apparently). The contender faced a maximum of 21 questions for a grand prize of $500,000 and could only walk away before seeing their next question. Not answering truthfully as determined by a ''[[LieDetector lie detector]]''[[note]] Prior to the show, with the help of the lie detector, the contender was asked from 50 to 100 questions, 21 of which would be reused in the show[[/note]] sent them home with ''nothing''... except all the humiliation that may ensue. The friends and family joining had an access to a [[BigRedButton big glowing button]] that may be used only '''once''' during the game (at their mercy) to switch the question in case the current one was too unbearable.

* In Spain, a particular category of daily game shows (often referred to as "bote" [jackpot] shows) became well-known for dangling a ProgressiveJackpot behind a NintendoHard bonus round, and having no winnings cap. Two of the best-known examples have been ''Pasapalabra'' (whose bonus game, ''El Rosco'', requires the contestants to answer 25 questions related to letters from the alphabet, using time earned in the first half of the show) -- where getting a FlawlessVictory has awarded jackpots as large as €2.19 million euros, and the Spanish version of ''Series/{{Boom}}'', where a team known as Los Lobos pulled off a ''two-year'' streak as champions during which they amassed €6.5 million in prizes, including a €4.1 million jackpot.