Chris Harrison fulfills ‘dream’ hosting ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’

Chris Harrison is a unique type of host. Hailing from a sports journalism background, he’s more about sitting back and watching the action unfold rather than drawing attention to himself. If you’ve seen him hosting The Bachelor or any of its spinoffs, you’ll witness this approach: calm, straight-faced and inoffensive.

He’s a perfect fit for game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and he takes the host seat for his second season. (Other hosts in the past have included the iconic Regis Philbin, Terry Crews, Meredith Vieira and Cedric the Entertainer.) While it’s a slight departure for Harrison, he says it’s like a dream come true to take the helm.

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Global News spoke with Harrison about his new gig, transferring from The Bachelor to Millionaire, and what special episodes people can expect — and there are some doozies.

Global News: Is it fun to sit in the host’s chair on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Chris Harrison: It’s a blast. It really is fun. I get the opportunity to host a lot of stuff, but Millionaire provides a rare opportunity for a host. Very few vehicles are as legendary as Millionaire; if you think about it, there are only five long-lasting game shows (off the top of my head): Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Price Is Right, Family Feud, and then Millionaire. When Regis brought that to primetime it changed the TV world… so now, 15 or 17 years later, to be offered that job, it’s not lost on me.

Do you have a game-show host mentor? Are you doing a Trebek, a Sajak, a Barker?

You’re not leaving your hosting duties on The Bachelor, right?

Oh no, never. That’s my baby. I’ve been there for 15 years.

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Are you a trivia guy?

Yeah, I think like everybody else. I used to watch Millionaire and I loved to play along. What I’ve always appreciated about the show is it’s not like other quiz or trivia shows — you don’t have to be a genius to play it. It’s not about how hard the questions are, because a $100,000 question could be about the Dallas Cowboys, and that’s a category I know everything about. That’s what’s so fun about Millionaire, it’s playable. Anybody can play it.

So say you’re asking a question on a topic you know a lot about, and the person doesn’t know the answer —

I’m dying inside. Luckily… and I don’t know why this has happened in my life… but I am really good at having a poker face. Every job I have, I have to keep secrets. Whether someone is heartbroken or going home or whatever it is, I’ve been preparing for this my entire life and never knew it.

You’re handing out some pretty serious cash here.

This is life-changing money. When people ask me what my favourite part of hosting this show is, I tell them it’s this. People get emotional when they make $5,000, $30,000, $50,000. Lives are changed. It’s really amazing to have those moments. We give away far more money on this show than any other game show. This is why the concept works, and this is why, in my opinion, it’s the perfect format because of the money ladder you climb. It goes from $500 up to $1 million. Everybody has their pressure point.

Any tips for people who want to be on Millionaire?

First and foremost, audition. It’s stunning to me how many people don’t bother auditioning because of this misnomer that you have to be a genius. There is this overall fear of looking stupid or dumb. Inevitably, every contestant says, “I want to get the first question right and not bomb out.”

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Do you have any special themed weeks on the show?

Oh, yeah. We’ll have a celebrity week, where you’ll see Wayne Newton, Penn and Teller, Olivia Newton-John, Donny and Marie Osmond and more. One of my favourites is the “Whiz Kids” week — these kids are 10-13 years old, and you realize how little you’ve done in your life and how uneducated you are. They’re so stinking brilliant, it’s stunning. Victory for Veterans week, that’s heartwarming. We do Bachelor and Bachelorette Fan Favourite week as well.

My absolute favourite is the Hometown Heroes week. This year we’ll be including the woman who blew the lid off the Flint, Mich. water crisis, and the teacher who barricaded the door and saved all those kids in the Sandy Hook tragedy. In this day and age, where so much trash is publicized and so many horrible people get famous, these people deserve a chance to win money.

Can you tell me if anyone wins the million this season?

Catch Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on Global at 4 p.m. ET from Monday to Friday.