The Million Second Quiz
A live trivia marathon lasting one million seconds.
The Million Second Quiz is an American game show hosted by Ryan Seacrest that aired on NBC from September 9 to September 19, 2013. The series was notable for its continuous 24-hour competition lasting exactly one million seconds, during which contestants vied for control of a "money chair" by winning trivia bouts. It was promoted as a live, multi-platform television event intended to boost NBC's 2013–14 season lineup.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Game show
- Creator
- Stephen Lambert
- Director
- Glenn Weiss
- Presenter
- Ryan Seacrest
- Theme music
- Joel Beckerman
- Opening theme
- "All Night" by Icona Pop
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
Facts from the source article.
Production
Creator Stephen Lambert described the format as "the Olympics of quiz" and intended it as a national event. NBC promoted the series across its properties, including appearances by Ryan Seacrest on programs like Football Night in America, and tie-in advertisements for other NBCUniversal channels. The prime time portions were broadcast live from an outdoor Manhattan rooftop with the city skyline as backdrop. Production designer Anton Goss, who also designed The Voice set, created a three-story bent-steel hourglass structure weighing 18,000 lb, laced with lights and containing the custom Money Chair. The rooftop required shoring to support the structure and audience bleachers, with structural engineering by Geiger Engineers. The non-prime time quiz began a day before the premiere, on September 8, 2013, at 7:17 AM EDT, with 867,826 seconds remaining. The series ran for ten episodes. An international version aired on China's Hunan TV in September 2015 under the title 百万秒问答.
Reception
The Million Second Quiz received negative reviews from television critics, and ratings declined over its run. The premiere drew 6.52 million viewers, while the finale attracted 4.95 million, with lower numbers in between. TVWeek called the show "ratings-challenged," and Michael O'Connor of The Hollywood Reporter described it as a "ratings disaster," attributing the poor performance to a confusing format. The New York Times' Mike Hale cited unclear format, banal question topics, and insufficient convergence of second-screen interactions. Variety's Brian Lowry suggested NBC was "a little too desperate to turn The Million Second Quiz into 'an event.'" The A.V. Club's Sonia Saraiya characterized the series as a "hyped show about hype" that was "so deeply flawed and so universally unpopular" but praised the contestants as friendly and relatable. Digital Spy's Catriona Wightman doubted the show could sustain viewer interest over its duration.
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