The original US version premiered on ABC on August 16, 1999, as part of a two-week daily special event hosted by Regis Philbin. After this and a second two-week event aired in November 1999, ABC commissioned a regular series that launched on January 9, 2000, and ran until June 27, 2002.

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.