For his anniversary, Günther Jauch hosts a grand spectacle
The most gratifying instances for TV host Günther Jauch on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" involve arrogant contestants making errors. He verifies this in an interview, discussing his penny-pinching strategies and their connection to television.
In a radio broadcast titled "Sunday Breakfast" on "Antenne Bayern," the 68-year-old host openly admitted that he's never indulged in binge-watching, consuming hours of series. Additionally, he saves a significant amount of money due to not subscribing to numerous streaming services.
Generally, TV host Jauch finds fictional series to be uninteresting. He argues against "people who wake up the next day with bloodshot eyes and claim, 'I've just spent seven hours watching a series'," he added. Instead, he prefers to watch news, documentaries, and talk shows.
"... as some self-proclaimed genius sits there ..."
Next Thursday (October 17th, 8:15 PM, RTL), Jauch will celebrate a special 25th anniversary edition of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" featuring renowned guests. However, he'd prefer an event devoid of grand surprises. Unfortunately, RTL is keeping the schedule under wraps, leaving Jauch worried about potential embarrassing situations. "The most dreadful scenario would be if a humongous cake with a massive '25' appears and someone who looks like Verona Pooth or Evelyn Burdecki jumps out, and I'm clueless about who they are," said Jauch, hoping for a more simple program.
Initially, the host had doubts about the show's success. "At first, I didn't want to host a quiz. Quizzes were out of fashion and unpopular. They were a relic of 60s and 70s German television, and there was no interest in them," said Jauch.
Jauch's admiration for overconfident contestants remains limited. "There's no satisfaction greater than when some self-proclaimed genius is seated, asserting in their opening statement that they know everything, and everyone else should acknowledge this, only to fail to answer the first five questions. These situations are equally delightful, although not amusing for the contestant at that moment," he added.
Despite his enjoyment of watching contestants stumble, Jauch himself prefers to steer clear of overconfident quiz shows. He rarely watches television shows that rely on guesswork and luck, opting instead for news programming or documentaries.
Stumbling upon an old re-run of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" one evening, Jauch was reminded of the thrill of hosting the show and its potential to humble even the most confident contestants.
