Millionaire Hot Seat

Millionaire Hot Seat
Also known as	'Hot Seat'
Genre	Game show
Presented by	Eddie McGuire
Theme music composer	Ramon Covalo
Composer(s)	Ramon Covalo Keith Strachan Matthew Strachan
Country of origin	Australia
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	1,499 (as of 11 October 2016)
Production
Location(s)	GTV-9 Melbourne, Victoria (2009–10) Docklands Studios Melbourne (2011–present)
Running time	30 minutes (with commercials)
Production company(s)	2waytraffic
Release
Original network	Nine Network
Picture format	576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	20 April 2009 – present
Chronology
Preceded by	Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? 1 vs. 100
External links
Website

Millionaire Hot Seat, also known as Hot Seat, is an Australian television quiz show. The show is a spin-off of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? which began airing on the Nine Network on 20 April 2009. As with the original version of the show, it is hosted by Eddie McGuire and follows a similar format.

History

Rumours about a new shortened version of Millionaire first began circulating in February 2009,^[1] and were confirmed when the Nine Network produced a pilot version of the format titled Millionaire: Russian Roulette in March 2009.^[2] The official title was announced as Millionaire Hot Seat,^[2] but this was later shortened to simply Hot Seat.^[3] The new format was originally promoted as a short-run series,^[4] with advertisements featuring McGuire exclaiming "20 nights! 20 million dollars!".^[4] It was announced on 7 April 2009 that Hot Seat would begin airing on 20 April 2009 in the 5:00 pm–6:00 pm weeknight timeslot^[5][6] and would compete against the high-rating game show, Deal or No Deal, on the Seven Network.^[5][6] As expected, the show's format was shortened to 30 minutes and given an overhaul of the rules and gameplay, in a system based on the Italian version of the show.

The Nine Network commissioned a second series of the show, to begin airing the week after the original 20-episode order had finished airing on 15 May 2009.^[7] The second series began airing on 18 May 2009.^[7]

A special prime time edition of Hot Seat aired at 8:00 pm on Monday, 8 June 2009,^[8] featuring a contestant, Barry Soraghan, playing for the format's first million-dollar question.^[9] Ultimately, Soraghan answered the question incorrectly, and won only $1,000.^[9] At the completion of the taped episode, Soraghan was visited live on air at his Blackburn home by McGuire,^[9] who then awarded him a two-week holiday for him and his family, as well as $5,000 in spending money.^[9] The episode achieved a ratings figure of 1,224,000 viewers nationally,^[10] and was the eleventh-highest rating program for the night,^[10] which was a vast improvement from the 812,000 viewers that Hot Seat managed in its regular timeslot on the same night.^[10]

Hot Seat was originally filmed in the iconic Studio 9 at the GTV9 Richmond premises, however as of February 2011, it has been filmed at GTV9's new home at Docklands Studios Melbourne. The show's 500th episode went to air on 3 August 2011; that day's contestant winning $100,000.

On 15 August 2011 the four remaining couples from the 2011 season of The Block appeared on the show, attempting to win $1,000,000 for charity. But the final couple in the hot seat faltered on the seventh question. The last couple won only $1,000 for their charity.

On 3 October 2011, a The Farmer Wants a Wife special went to air, ahead of the final that was to air later that night. Farmer Frank, the last contestant in the Hot Seat, had a chance to win $100,000 for his charity but lost, winning only $1,000 for the Royal Flying Doctors Services.

On 27 July 2012, Hot Seat stopped airing for the London 2012 Olympic Games until 13 August 2012.

A local version will air exclusively for Western Australian viewers starting in 2014.^[11]

On 2 June 2014, Hot Seat celebrated its 1,000th episode. In this episode, that day's contestant Janine won $50,000. In addition, McGuire called back all the contestants telling them they each won $1,000 for appearing on its 1,000th episode.

On 16 March 2015 the top prize of $20,000 jackpotted to $541,000 and was won by Gerard Lane from Victoria, Australia.

On 13 April 2015, Hot Seat had its first revamp since it launched in 2009. The intro was slightly changed, a new set with higher resolution LED screens was introduced and new graphics using the Eurostile font. A new lifeline was also added for the final question, the Switch lifeline. The constant on the final question could use it to change the final question to another one of the same value. This lifeline was dropped after the 8 May 2015 episode, but was reinstated for episodes airing between 21 and 25 September of the same year.

The program will mark 1,500 episodes on 12 October 2016.^[12]

Top prize winner(s)

Edwin Daly (29 August 2016)

On 29 August 2016, 67-year-old Edwin Daly became the first Australian contestant (and the fourth worldwide) on the Hot Seat to win the top prize of AU$1,000,000.^[13]

Format

Designed to be a faster-paced game than the traditional format of Millionaire, Hot Seat involves six contestants playing each episode taking turns trying to be the one in the "Hot Seat" who reaches the goal amount answers the question of that amount correctly. The goal amount starts at the highest amount on the money tree (shown on the right). The traditional three lifelines are replaced by a single "pass" lifeline, which will pass the current question to the next contestant in line (who cannot pass that question further) and send the current contestant to the end of the line.

Each question is given a time limit to be answered (with the timer starting after McGuire reads through the question and the four possible choices): with 15 seconds allocated for the first five questions, 30 for the middle five, and 45 for the last five. If a player fails to give an answer in the time limit, it is considered an automatic use of the pass lifeline. In the case that time expires and the current contestant cannot pass the question (either because they were passed the current question or they used their pass already), they are treated as if they gave an incorrect answer.

Unlike other Millionaire formats, the game does not immediately end on a wrong answer. Instead, the current contestant is eliminated from the game, the next contestant in line becomes the "Hot Seat" contestant while all remaining players move up one chair, and the goal amount is reduced to the next lowest tier on the money tree (unless it is lower than the current tier). Once the players are shuffled around, a new question is now asked and play resumes. Additionally, contestant may not walk away from the game under any circumstance.

The game ends either when all contestants are eliminated or when the question for the highest value in the money tree is answered. If the question on the last tier is answered correctly, the answering player receives the value of the question. If it is answered incorrectly, the last player to be eliminated receives either nothing (which means that nobody receives any prize money for that show), or $1,000 if the fifth question milestone is reached. No final contestant has ever gone away empty-handed. Another difference from the traditional format of Millionaire, the only guaranteed sum of money is the $1,000 for answering the fifth question correctly. This sum will be awarded to the contestant that is playing the final question of the money tree.^[14] If a contestant did not get a chance to answer a question and sit on the hot seat, they may get a chance to return at a later time to play the game as the producers often invite such contestants back. However if a contestant had a chance to play a question but passed their place in the seat, they are eliminated and will likely not be invited to return.

During the second half of 2011, audio and visual questions were introduced to the format. Either an audio or a visual question would be asked once per episode, usually towards the beginning of the game.

Variations

During 2015, the "Switch" lifeline was added for contestants on the final question. This allowed the contestant to switch to a different question if they were unhappy with it. This feature was soon dropped on 8 May 2015, but was brought back for a week of episodes from 21 to 25 September of the same year.

Later in 2015, the "Ask a Friend" lifeline was added in for contestants. Similar to the traditional "Phone a Friend" lifeline, the contestant is able to ask their designated friend or family member in the audience to help them answer the question. Before the player can use the lifeline, they must answer three consecutive questions after the $1000 'safe level'. The feature was added for a week of episodes from 14 to 18 September 2015.

Controversies

In one episode, a contestant gave an answer to the final question, but McGuire told the contestant that she had not answered it in time and checked with the producers to see whether this was a "pass" or she was to be awarded $1,000. While the decision was being made, the contestant insisted that she had two seconds left on the clock. In the end, the contestant won $1,000.^[15]

International versions

There have been 12 different versions of Millionaire Hot Seat since the original Australian version debuted.

Countries/regions	Title	Host	Network	Top prize	Premiere
Arab world	المليونير - الحلقة الأقوى El milyoner - Elhalka elaqwa [16]	Maysa Maghrebi	Dubai TV	Dhs.1,000,000	17 April 2013
Chile	¿Quién quiere ser millonario?: Alta tensión	Diana Bolocco Sergio Lagos	Canal 13	CL$120,000,000	6 January 2011
Colombia	¿Quién quiere ser millonario? Silla Caliente Only with celebrity contestants	Paulo Laserna Phillips	RCN	CO$300,000,000	3 episodes aired in 2013
Denmark	Hvem vil være millionær Alle mod alle	Hans Pilgaard	TV2	1,000,000Kr	2 episodes aired in 2009
Ecuador	¿Quién quiere ser millonario? Alta tensión	Estéfani Espín	Ecuavisa	US$100,000	1 July 2012
Greece  Cyprus	Millionaire Hot Seat	Yannis Zouganelis	Skai TV	€100,000	29 October 2014
Hungary	Legyen Ön is milliomos! - felpörgetve	Sándor Fábry	RTL Klub	40,000,000Ft	March, 2010
India (Hindi)	Kaun Banega Crorepati Hot Seat	Amitabh Bachchan	Sony TV	₹10,000,000	2010
Italy	Chi vuol essere milionario? – Edizione Straordinaria	Gerry Scotti	Canale 5	€1,000,000	15 December 2008
Indonesia	Who Wants To Be a Millionaire Hot Seat	Ferdi Hasan	RCTI	Rp.500,000,000	13 September 2010
Norway	Vil du bli millionær? Hot Seat	Sarah Natasha Melbye	TV2	1,000,000Kr	2009/10
Portugal	Quem quer ser milionário? Alta Pressão	José Carlos Malato	RTP 1	€100,000	5 July 2010
Spain	¿Quién quiere ser el millonario?	Núria Roca	laSexta	€100,000	15 February 2012
Ukraine	Мільйонер - Гаряче крісло Milyoner - Garyache Krislo	Vladimir Zelenski	Inter	1,000,000₴	15 February 2011
Vietnam	Ai Là Triệu Phú - Ghế nóng	Lại Văn Sâm	VTV3	₫120,000,000	7 September 2010

References