Cedric Is Syndication’s Latest ‘Millionaire’

When Who Wants to Be a Millionaire kicks off its 12^th season on Sept. 2, the Disney-ABC syndicated game show’s most noticeable change will be its new host, comedian Cedric “The Entertainer,” who’s taking over from Meredith Vieira. She left to launch an NBCUniversal daytime talk show in 2014. But the changes to Millionaire go a bit deeper than its host.

The show, from Valleycrest Productions, begins taping its new season on Monday, Aug. 19, at NEP Metropolis Studios at 106 Street and Park Avenue in New York City, a change from its previous venue, ABC studios in midtown Manhattan.

And the show is reaching out to a broader group of contestants, says the new host whose full name is Cedric Antonio Kyles. “We’ll go out and get a nice slice of America, younger contestants, but all walks of life from all parts of the country,” he says.

Millionaire, which is sold on a cash-plus-barter basis, is carried on stations including ABC O&O WABC New York, NBC’s KNBC Los Angeles and Fox-owned WPWR Chicago, as well as stations owned by Hearst, CBS and others.

Cedric will also beef up the laughs on the show. “You don’t want to disrupt the show with a joke, so the key for me is to find an opportunity where I can jump in and add some quips,” he says. “We have background information on each contestant. I’ll look there for an opportunity to add humor before the game. Once you’re in the game, I want to stay true to the show, although I will be looking for opportunities to add humor.”

The new host showed off his approach during a recent rehearsal. “We had a barber on from a Harlem barbershop,” says executive producer Rich Sirop, who is widely expected to executive produce Vieira’s talk show. “By the third question he was struggling. Cedric went around to the guy, put his hand on his shoulder and said, ‘Man, I hope you’re good at cutting hair.’ It was funny and relatable.”

The show’s format will remain unchanged from recent seasons and so will the look of the set, outside of a few tweaks like brighter lighting.

“The game isn’t changing,” Sirop says. “If you like the questions and the style of the show, I don’t think it changes much for you, expect that Cedric is a different personality.”

The show has performed well the past 11 seasons. In its first season, Millionaire averaged a 3.0 household rating; in the 2012-13 season it delivered a still-solid 2.4, according to Nielsen data.

However, Debmar-Mercury’s Family Feud has soared past it in the ratings ever since comedian, talk show host and Cedric’s long-time friend Steve Harvey began hosting that show in 2010.

Cedric co-starred with Harvey in the 2000 movie the Original Kings of Comedy and from 1996 to 2002 on the sitcom the Steve Harvey Show.

Meantime, Cedric is starting to get the word out on the new Millionaire. “I’m doing a lot of promotion,” he says, including appearances on network TV talk shows, syndicated daytime talk shows and, via satellite from the Millionaire set, appearances on some local affiliates’ programs. Here are some promos:

Let It Snow

Acting Up

Million-Dollar Moves