It’s a fate so unfortunate it makes SlumDunder Mifflinaire’s Buffalo branch look all right in comparison. After 17 seasons in syndication, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire has been canceled and will come to an end with its current season. Variety reports no specific reason was given for the cancellation, with the show’s spokesperson only saying it had a “successful” run in both its prime-time and syndicated eras. Debuting on ABC in 1999 with host Regis Philbin, the game show — which would later be hosted by a motley crew of Meredith Vieira, Cedric the Entertainer, Terry Crews, and Chris Harrison — became a pop-culture phenomenon thanks to its easy format and not-so-easy questions, as well as its memorable lifelines, such as “phone a friend” and “ask the audience, who probably have no idea. Nearly 3,000 episodes will be ultimately aired.
