Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Magisteria)

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, also known by its French name Qui veut gagner des millions?, is a Magisterian television quiz show adapted from the same-titled British program created by David Briggs, Steven Knight and Mike Whitehill and developed for the United States by Norman Dumas. The show features a quiz competition with contestants attempting to win a top prize of M₣2,000,000 by answering a series of multiple-choice questions, usually of increasing difficulty. The program has endured as one of the longest-running and most successful international variants in the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? franchise.

Mason Guillaume hosted the series from March 16, 2000 until December 27, 2012, airing a total of 668 episodes spanning thirteen seasons. The show was eventually revived, with the fourteenth season premiering on January 17, 2019, and is currently hosted by Robert Reynell. The concept and gameplay of the program have changed multiple times since its inception, and fifteen participants have earned the top prize by correctly answering all questions.

Gameplay
At its core, the game is a quiz competition in which the goal is to correctly answer a series of fifteen consecutive multiple-choice questions. The questions are of increasing difficulty. Each question is worth a specific amount of money; the amounts are not cumulative. If at any time the contestant gives a wrong answer, the game is over and the contestant's winnings are reduced to ₣0 for tier-one questions, ₣10,000 for tier-two questions, and ₣75,000 for tier-three questions. However, the contestant may choose to stop playing after being presented with a question, allowing them to keep all the money they have won to that point.

They then have to answer fifteen multiple-choice questions correctly to move up the money tree. They can walk away at any time, and they have four "lifelines" to assist them:


 * 50:50: The computer removes two random incorrect answers, leaving the correct answer and one incorrect answer.
 * Switch: This lifeline allows the contestant to swap the question for a different one.
 * Three Wise Men: The show has a team of three knowledgeable people (one of whom is a former Millionaire contestant, and at least one of whom is a female) 30 seconds to consult and advise the contestant.
 * Double Dip (High risk only/Q10-15 only; Season 14-15): The contestant is given two chances to answer a question. If the first answer is incorrect, they cannot walk away and must give a second answer.

Former lifelines

 * Phone-A-Friend (2000-2012; 2019-2020): The contestant calls one of their friends from their predetermined list. They are given 30 seconds to discuss the question.
 * Ask the Audience (2000-2010; 2019): The members of the audience are polled using a keypad with buttons labelled from A to D. They press the button corresponding to the answer they think is the correct one. The percentage of the answers are shown onscreen and on the monitors.
 * Ask Three of the Audience (Q10-15 only; 2021-2022): Same as People Speak and Ask One of the Audience, however three people are asked instead of one.
 * Ask the Host (2019-2021): This lifeline allows the contestant to consult the presenter for guidance.

Over the course of the show's run, the format of Millionaire was changed in a number of aspects, mainly relating to the setup of questions used in the game, along with minor tweaks and changes in other aspects:


 * In the seventh season (2006), the Fastest Finger round was removed until it made its return in the fourteenth season in 2019
 * Between the eleventh season (2010) and the thirteenth season (2012), the questions 15 to 12. Unlike its British counterpart, the first three questions were simply removed. The high risk format was also used in this format.
 * During the thirteenth season (2012), the show used the clock format.

Top prize winners
Over the course of the program's broadcast history, seventeen contestants answered all fifteen questions correctly and walked away with the top prize.


 * Wardell Hanson, a former government official from Calisota. On January 18, 2001, he became the first contestant to win the top prize
 * Carmen Eldred, a housewife from Soleildoré. She became the first female contestant in the Magisterian version, and the second overall, to win the top prize on May 12, 2001
 * Albert Burnham, an economist from Annesia City. He became the third contestant to win the top prize on December 27, 2001
 * Charlton Aston, an independent musician from Annesia City. He became the fourth contestant to win the top prize on June 6, 2002
 * Sunny Harlan, a registered nurse from Debsland. She became the fifth contestant to win the top prize on November 14, 2002. She is also the first top prize winner in the Magisterian version with all three lifelines intact
 * Trevelyan Huxtable, a civil servant from Calisota. He became the sixth contestant to win the top prize on February 20, 2003
 * Raleigh Tatton, a National People's University valedictorian from Annesia City. He became the seventh contestant, as well the youngest, to win the top prize on September 18, 2003
 * Joseph Scriven, a physics teacher from Frenchelle. He became the eighth contestant to win the top prize on August 12, 2004
 * Ed Bowman & Élisabeth Soucy-Bowman, a newly-wedded couple from Foucault. They became the ninth and tenth contestants to win the top prize on February 14, 2008, as well the first couple to win the top prize in the Magisterian version
 * Mindy Kemper, an actress from Frenchelle. She became the eleventh contestant to win the top prize on June 16, 2011, as well the first, and so far the only, celebrity contestant to win the top prize in the Magisterian version
 * Bertrand North, a former banker from Annesia City. He became the twelfth contestant to win the top prize on September 8, 2011
 * Ely Daniel, a wedding planner from Combal. He became the thirteenth contestant to win the top prize on December 22, 2011
 * Roselyn Cross, a police officer from Annesia City. She became the fourteenth contestant to win the top prize on January 12, 2012. She was also the final top prize winner in the original run of the series.
 * Edith Timberlake, a dancer from Elizabeth. She became the fifteenth contestant to win the top prize on July 25, 2019. She was the first top prize winner in the revived run
 * Mervyn Hutchinson, a university professor from Soleildoré. He became the sixteenth contestant to win the top prize on October 22, 2020
 * Marlon Moses, a former UPAF Major from Ingram. He became the seventeenth contestant to win the top prize on November 17, 2022