the first version of the show was hosted by regis philbin and it aired on primetime on abc. it aired from august 16, 1999 to june 27, 2002. the current syndicated version started airing on september 16, 2002. meredith vieira hosted it for eleven seasons, leaving to work on other projects. cedric the entertainer was signed up to be the next host, and episodes with cedric started in september 2013. cedric announced on april 30, 2014 that he would not return for a second season because of his busy schedule. terry crews was signed up to be the next host, and episodes with he started in september 2014. terry announced then that he would not return for another season because of his busy schedule. chris harrison was signed up to be the next host, and episodes with him started in september 2015.