Plus One

Plus One is a lifeline introduced on the U.S. version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in 2014, replacing one of the Jump the Question lifelines.

Usage[]

The "Plus One" lifeline has a functionality similar to that of "Phone-A-Friend". A friend of the contestant who is in the audience is often introduced at the start of the show if they start the show with a new contestant or the moment they are called for help if else happens. When the contestant uses the lifeline, the friend steps onto the stage and discusses the question with them. They stay on the stage until the contestant either answers the question or decides to walk away, even after further lifelines are used.

Like "Double Dip," the usage of "Plus One" lasts the duration a contestant faces the question, but unlike Double Dip, they are allowed to use further lifelines or walk away.

Often, if a contestant walks away on a question which they were using the lifeline on or answers that question incorrectly, their Plus One exits the stage with them unless the show ends or cuts to a commercial break right after, in which they stay on the stage during the credits or and exit sometime during the break.

History[]

The lifeline was first introduced for the US show's thirteenth season, the last season to use the Shuffle format. It replaced one of the Jump the Question lifelines, leaving contestants with only one jump. It was carried over onto the revival of the classic format in season fourteen with 50:50 replacing the other jump.

During special college shows, contestants were given a fourth lifeline called Extra Help, which has usage similar to that of Plus One, but could only be used after Plus One has been used.

The Indian Hindi version is the second version of the show to use the lifeline alongside Phone-a-Friend (later replaced by Ask the Expert in Season 10), Ask the Audience, and 50:50. The lifeline was used for Season 9 and 10, under a new name: Jodidaar.

In the 2020 U.S. revival version, the Plus One lifeline was renamed as Ask the Guest. However, the lifeline had no symbol graphic. Instead, it showed the portrait of the corresponding guest. The guest companion can be used an unlimited number of times for the first 10 questions, then becomes a lifeline for the last 5 questions, but they must switch out one of their remaining unused lifelines in order to unlock the Ask the Guest lifeline; the contestant must make that decision as soon as they pass question 10.

In the Vietnamese version, the Plus One was used as the fill-in lifeline, replacing the Ask the Audience lifeline from May 5, 2020 (due to no audience, still being used later even after the audience was back). The function of this lifeline was the same as the original version in most episodes, except for the June 1, 2021 (International Children's Day Special) episode, where it was used similarly to Ask A Friend, albeit with two nominated parents instead of one since this episode had two couples of children contestants.