ABC/Randy Holmes(LOS ANGELES) — ABC is building on its lineup of classic game show revivals with two new additions: Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Supermarket Sweep, hosted receptively by Jimmy Kimmel and Leslie Jones.
In celebration of Who Wants to be a Millionaire‘s 20th anniversary this year, Kimmel will host a special run of episodes featuring celebrity contestants playing for charity.
The celebrities will be allowed to invite a guest — celebrity or otherwise — to join them in the hot seat to help them win as much money as possible.
The reboot will also introduce a “live play-along app” that allows viewers to compete for the same amount of money that celebrities are playing for on the show.
Kimmel, who hosts ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! jokes that Regis Philbin, who hosted the original Who Wants to be a Millionaire, “came to me in a dream, asked me to do this and promised my own line of neckties if I did. I had little choice but to say yes.”
ABC also announced that it has closed a deal to bring back the popular game show Supermarket Sweep, hosted by Jones.
The Saturday Night Live alum — a main architect of the game show’s return — says “I’ve always dreamed of being on Supermarket Sweep,” adding, “I tried out for the show years ago; and after getting turned away, I knew I’d have to take matters into my own hands.”
Supermarket Sweep, which first aired on ABC from 1965-67, followed by revivals on Lifetime from 1990-95 and Pax from 1999-2003, challenges contestants to race around a supermarket and grab as many of the most expensive items as they can. The team with the highest total wins.
Production on the revival is set to begin this spring.
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