NBC today confirmed that American Idol host and Emmy Award-winning producer Ryan Seacrest has been named the host and executive producer of the network’s new event game show The Million Second Quiz. The series, which pits people in a head-to-head quiz competition for up to $10,000,000 live in Manhattan, starts Monday, September 9th, at 8:00PM ET. All3 Media produces. Im so excited to be hosting this new live game show on NBC, as its really a fun and different format that I believe will generate lots of fans across different platforms, said Ryan Seacrest. Im looking forward to working with the other producers and everyone at NBC to make the show a success.
The Million Second Quiz sees two contestants play intense head-to-head trivia matches inside a massive hourglass-shaped structure in Manhattan. The show will run for a million seconds (roughly). Each bout sees one player sitting in the “Money Chair”. The opponent is in an opposite chair and hopes to take over. Each second a player can sit in the Money Chair is worth $10. So, by winning one day alone, you could win over $800,000. People who want a shot can compete by physically coming to the hourglass or playing online through their phones or computers.
So what do we think of the host and format? The format sounds fine so far. I’m not a giant fan of bank-earning big-money shows since I think a lot of the tension is gone once you win a certain amount. I don’t really feel bad if you have $2,000,000 guaranteed but you lose out on another few hundred grand or million. However, it’s nearly impossible to do a money chain for $10,000,000 without it seeming ridiculous (see Super Millionaire). Also Ryan Seacrest is a very, very talented broadcaster and host. He’s extremely versatile and can basically do anything. I look forward to seeing how he does here.
