Terry Crews has been named the new host of Disney/ABC’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Disney-ABC said Wednesday.
“We are excited to announce that Terry Crews will be taking the reins as our new host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire next season,” said Janice Marinelli, president, Disney-ABC Domestic Television, in a statement. “Terry is engaging, endearing, smart, and quick on his feet—the perfect combination to lead one of the longest-running franchises in game show history.”
"I'm beyond thrilled to be joining Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and the Disney-ABC family,” said Crews, also in a statement. “Millionaire is such a beloved franchise and I can’t wait to get started as the new host.”
In addition, James Rowley will join the program as executive producer, producing the show from a new studio in Stamford, Connecticut.
Deadline.com first reported that Crews would replace Cedric the Entertainer, who is departing after one season in the host chair. Prior to Cedric, Meredith Vieira hosted the show for 11 seasons until moving on to launch her own talk show, which debuts this fall.
Crews, a former NFL player and Old Spice pitchman, also stars on Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine. On the big screen, he is featured in Blended, an upcoming movie starring Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler, and Draft Day, starring Kevin Costner. Other TV roles have included The CW’s Everybody Hates Chris, HBO’s The Newsroom and Netflix’s Arrested Development. He also just released his first book, Manhood, which is coming out May 20. He is married to his wife of 25 years, Rebecca Crews, and the couple has five children.
Rowley most recently was executive producer of truTV’s Killer Karaoke and Lifetime’s Seriously Funny Kids. He’s also created and executive produced shows for IFC, Game Show Network and Comedy Central. His production company, Knucklehead Television, produces WWE’s Legends' House.
