Episode 4 | Syndicated Millionaire (WWTBAM)

You may leave home and come back to the same house you once were in, but it may not feel the same because you may not come back the same person you were before. This may be what happened to Millionaire aka WWTBAM. Today we will discuss how everything came full-circle for this half-hour show.

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American Millionaire was a massive hit in the beginning, spawning a revival in game shows in general and big money, prime time quiz shows in particular (including many other imported shows). Ratings eventually tanked, however, with most people pointing their fastest fingers at ABC for milking the show to the point of overexposure (at one point, it was aired four nights a week). It still lived, however, in a more normal (for a game show) weekday afternoon syndication format, but the show's popularity and viewership has dipped quite a bit since then. The U.S. syndicated version was cancelled on May 31, 2019 after 17 seasons.

So how did this game show change over time with it's syndicated, AOL audience, clock, shuffle and revival of its classic format.

The US version underwent a massive alteration of its format for its ninth syndicated season. The first ten questions were played for amounts ranging from $100 to $25,000, except that the value of each question was randomized, was only revealed once the question is answered correctly, and was added to a bank.

And no more hot seat.

Additionally, question difficulties and categories were randomized. The lifelines were also changed for this, only Ask the Audience remains alongside two instances of a new lifeline called Jump the Question which lets the player skip over a question, at the expense of not being able to collect the money behind it. For its 2014-15 season, one of the Jumps were replaced by "Plus One", which is basically Phone-a-Friend except you have to bring the friend with you. In an act of desperation, the 2015-16 season returned to the classic structure, using a 14-question progression and reviving 50:50 in place of the jump.

"Is that your final answer?"

- TV tropes

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