Tag: Nicole Byer

CULVER CITY, Calif. — Jimmy Kimmel is on his summer vacation from late-night television. But before he started his time off, he taped a summer of shows for primetime.

Kimmel is back with a new celebrity-filled season of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.”

“This show is so much easier than my show. I mean, really, like, the amount of preparation is basically one minute of reading through pronunciations and then sitting down,” laughed Kimmel.

In the new season of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,” celebrities are pairing up to win money for their charities – including the stars of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Scrubs” and “Full House.”

“We got into neuroses. We get into all sorts of old wounds were opened. I didn’t even want to ask any questions because it was so funny watching them sit there and talk,” said Kimmel.

“Kenan and Kel” hope to hit the jackpot on the show. But they are already winners when it comes to the fans.

“When Ken and Kel walked out there, I’m not joking, the whole front row of the audience here started crying,” said Kimmel.

But laughing has been a big part of the show. So has philanthropy.

“It’s been very fulfilling so far. And people have made a lot of money. And you can tell when you talk to these people that, all joking aside, all game show aside, these charities mean a lot to them. When you ask somebody, ‘What is your favorite charity?’ you know, it hits home,” said Kimmel.

I asked Jimmy what game night looks like at the Kimmel household.

“I don’t like games. Maybe I shouldn’t be a game show host!” joked Kimmel. “I do love to play Scrabble. Unfortunately, no one will play with me ever because I just don’t ever lose. So, I love to play Scrabble. I like to play Boggle, sometimes by myself. But word games, I guess, are the games I go for.”

I let him know those were my two favorite games.

“Oh, I would love to play you.” said Kimmel. “Oh, just Pennacchio’s like a thousand points!”

“Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” airs Wednesday nights on ABC.