Milionerzy (Millionaires) is a Polish game show based on the original British format of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? The show is hosted by Hubert Urbański. The first version of Milionerzy was broadcast from 3 September 1999 to 26 January 2003, the second version was broadcast from 19 January 2008 to 19 December 2010, the third version was broadcast from 9 February 2017 to 5 July 2025, and the fourth version has been broadcast since 1 September 2025. Since September 2025, it is shown every Monday to Thursday at 7:55 p.m. (CET +1 or CEST +2) on Polsat.
In April 2025, TVN confirmed it would not extend the license to produce further seasons of the program. In June 2025, Polsat confirmed the acquisition of the rights to the format. At the same time, casting for new episodes of the program began. The new broadcaster entered into cooperation with the program's current producer, Jake Vision.
Game rules
The main goal of the game is to win 1 million Polish złoty by answering twelve multiple-choice questions correctly. There are three classic lifelines – ask the audience (pytanie do publiczności), fifty fifty (pół na pół, 50:50) and phone a friend (telefon do przyjaciela) – and also three other lifelines – ask the host (pytanie do prowadzącego), ask the expert (pytanie do eksperta) and switch the question (zamiana pytania). From March to December 2010 contestant could choose risk game, where the second guaranteed sum (40,000 zł) was not guaranteed. Since 2025, when a contestant gets the second question correct, they will leave with 2,000 zł. When a contestant gets the seventh question correct, they will leave with 50,000 zł.
The game's prizes
In the first version of Milionerzy, there were fifteen questions:
Question number
Question value
1
100 zł
2
200 zł
3
300 zł
4
500 zł
5
1,000 zł
6
2,000 zł
7
4,000 zł
8
8,000 zł
9
16,000 zł
10
32,000 zł
11
64,000 zł
12
125,000 zł
13
250,000 zł
14
500,000 zł
15
1,000,000 zł
In the second and third versions of Milionerzy, there were twelve questions:
Question number
Question value
1
500 zł
2
1,000 zł
3
2,000 zł
4
5,000 zł
5
10,000 zł
6
20,000 zł
7
40,000 zł
8
75,000 zł
9
125,000 zł
10
250,000 zł
11
500,000 zł
12
1,000,000 zł
In the fourth version of Milionerzy, the question values for the first seven questions were increased:
Question number
Question value
1
1,000 zł
2
2,000 zł
3
5,000 zł
4
10,000 zł
5
15,000 zł
6
25,000 zł
7
50,000 zł
8
75,000 zł
9
125,000 zł
10
250,000 zł
11
500,000 zł
12
1,000,000 zł
Appearance
From 1999 through 2003 we could see three changes of the studio stage design, some differ in stylistics. From 2008 through 2010, after resumption we could see the fourth stage design, from 2017 through 2025, the fifth one. And after Polsat acquired the format, studio design was similar to markets like the United Kingdom, the United States, Turkey and Spain.
The first logo of Milionerzy from 1999 was very different from the standard model used in other editions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. It was a violet rhombus on one of vertexes and rings standing on themselves on background of "Milionerzy" caption. The second one, modelled on the traditional style and introduced with the changes of credits and scenography in 2000, is round with green question marks. The third one, used from 2008 until 2023, had a different color scheme (question marks are gold). The fourth one, used from 2023 until now, has more golden question marks.
The first and second version of the opening credits were similar with people looking and aiming on Milionerzy logo. It was patterned on British credits of this time. From 2008 until 2023, the opening credits of the program featured an animation showing in sequence all prizes to one million złoty – it was patterned on the second British version.
From 1999 to 2003, the bar depicting the question and answer options in the game was black, in the shape of a rounded hexagon, with a light blue outline.
In 2008 the show switched to rave graphics based on the Macedonian and Danish versions: the question and answer bars were navy-blue and smaller than before. Also rave soundtrack was introducted.
In 2017 the show switched to rave graphics inspired by the 2011 graphics in the Dutch and Turkish versions. The question bar was brighter, also fonts were different. The background was not interlaced.
In 2023 the show switched to graphics inspired by the design of Olga van den Brandt and reverted to the original background music, except intro sequence. The dominant color is purple, while the question and answer bars are navy blue. First, only the question bar appears; the answer bar appears only after the host reads them. A new feature is that the colors of the logo on the big screen change at different stages of the game. In 2025 when the show moved to Polsat, the graphic was also upgraded to the third (current) version of Olga van den Brandt graphic based on the Vietnamese and Swedish versions.
Production
Recording studio
The first edition was recorded in the Warsaw-based WFDiF studio, 21, Chełmska St. from 1999 until 2000 and in the TVP studio on 17, Woronicza St until 2003. In 2008 and 2009 Milionerzy was recorded in the TVP studio in Kraków, 44, Nowohucka St. In 2010, the show was recorded in Farat Film studio in Warsaw, 22, Notecka St.
From January 2017 to the end of 2018, the show was filmed at the Transcolor studio in Szeligi near Warsaw. From January 2019 to November 2020, the program was recorded in Sękocin Stary at the TVN Sceno-Kreacje studio, and in 2021–2024 again in Szeligi. In 2025, due to a change of broadcaster, the recording location was moved to the Polsat hall at Łubinova Street in Warsaw.
Recordings outside Poland
From November 2018 to February 2019, episodes for the Italian version were recorded at the TVN SCENO-KREACJE studio in Sękocin Stary near Warsaw. From 7 December 2018 to 14 March 2019, they aired in Italy on Canale 5, owned by Mediaset. Italy decided to record Millionaire in Poland due to a proposal from Sony Pictures Television, the licensor of the rights to the international format. Representatives stated that the Polish version is considered the best in the world. When agreeing to produce the show in Poland, the Italians had to provide transport to Poland for the production team, the host, and the contestants. Production and substantive support was handled by Jan Kepinski's company Jake Vision, which holds the license of the Polish version of Millionaire. Jake Vision was also responsible for finding an Italian audience in Poland, while the broadcast van was provided by TVN. On 22 and 23 May 2019, four episodes were recorded here to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Spanish version of the show.
Executive producer
The executive producer of the program was Endemol in the first version, Intergalactic in the second version, and Jake Vision in the third version and onward.
Way to become a contestant
Based on the source text.
1999–2003
Stage I – to become a contestant, you had to phone a special Telemedium number, then choose date of recording of the episode, then answer a question with four variants and tell your personal details. 100 people were drawn from those who answered correctly and told the same recording date and they went to the II stage.
Stage II – people, who were drawn, gave their telephone number, and a pollster called them in a 2-days time and asked questions, which didn't have answer variants. 20 people, who gave the most similar answers to the correct ones were going to the III stage.
Stage III – before the recording participants had to arrange answer variants in correct order. 12 people, who did it correctly went to the IV stage. They were 10 Fastest Finger First players and two reserves. Pollster phoned them to confirm that they participate.
2008–2010
Stage I – to become a contestant, you had to send a SMS with Milion text to a shown number, and then answer two questions with four answer variants sent by a SMS and to give your personal details. The first 100 people who registered, answered those 2 questions and gave their personal details, went to the second stage.
Stage II – agent of the producer of the program phoned those 100 people. The call was recorded, about what those people were informed at the beginning of the call. Potential participant had to say about him, his hobby, job etc. Next, he had to answer several general knowledge questions, which didn't have variants. People chosen in the phone casting were informed about it in a 7-days time and invited to the studio.
2017–2025
Stage I – to apply for the program, you had to complete the questionnaire available on the program's website, in which you had to provide both personal data and answers to the open-ended questions contained therein.
Stage II – selected individuals had an interview with a program representative. This might be a face-to-face interview, by phone or Skype. During these interviews, the representative asked contestants open-ended questions without answer options.
Broadcasting
Season
Broadcast time
Week days
Hours
Episode length
Picture format
1
September 1999 – May 2000
Monday, Friday
20:30
25 minutes
4:3
Saturday, Sunday
19:30
45 minutes
June 2000
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday
20:30
25 minutes
Saturday, Sunday
19:30
45 minutes
2
August 2000 – March 2001
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
20:30
45 minutes
Saturday, Sunday
19:35
March–July 2001
Monday, Friday
20:50
Saturday, Sunday
19:35
3
September–December 2001
Monday
20:50
30–35 minutes
Saturday, Sunday
19:35
January–February 2002
Saturday, Sunday
20:00
March–May 2002
Monday
20:50
Saturday, Sunday
19:35
June 2002
Saturday, Sunday
20:00
4
September–December 2002
Monday
21:20
Sunday
20:00
January 2003
Sunday
20:00
5
January–June 2008
Saturday, Sunday
18:00
45 minutes
16:9
6
September–December 2008
7
March–May 2009
8
September–December 2009
Sunday
9
March–June 2010
16:9 HD
10
September–December 2010
11
February–May 2017
Monday to Thursday
20:55
22–25 minutes
12
September–December 2017
13
February–May 2018
14
September–December 2018
15
February–May 2019
16
September–December 2019
17
March 2020
18
September–December 2020
19
February–May 2021
20
September–December 2021
21
February–June 2022
22
September–December 2022
23
February–June 2023
24
September–December 2023
25
March–May 2024
26
November–December 2024
May–July 2025
Saturday
19:45
Sunday
19:45 20:20
27
September–November 2025
Monday to Thursday
19:55
28
February–June 2026
29
September 2026 – present
Number of viewers
Average of number of viewers from September 1999 to October 2008
The biggest number of viewers was on 5 March 2000, when a contestant won 250,000 zł for the first time in the history of the show. The number of viewers of this episode was 6.5million people.
First episode of second version (19 January 2008) was watched by 3.5million viewers. The biggest number of viewers in second version was on 5 April 2008, when the 1,000,000 zł question came up for the first time in the 12-question format. The episode from 6 April 2008 in which a contestant got the 500,000 zł question wrong was watched by 4.2million viewers.
First episode of third version (9 February 2017) was watched by 3.4million viewers.
Year/Season
Number of viewers
Ref.
1999
2.87 million
2000
3.05 million
2001
2.9 million
2002
2.25 million
2003
2.33 million
Spring 2008
over 3 million
Autumn 2008
2.92 million
Spring 2009
2.32 million
Autumn 2009
2.43 million
Spring 2010
2.21 million
Autumn 2010
2.65 million
Spring 2017
2.35 million
Autumn 2017
2.08 million
Spring 2018
1.99 million
Autumn 2018
2.09 million
Spring 2019
1.98 million
Autumn 2019
1.82 million
Spring 2020
about 1.85 million
Autumn 2020
1.56 million
Spring 2021
1.51 million
Autumn 2021
1.52 million
Spring 2022
1.43 million
WM
1.44 million
Press
Autumn 2022
1.34 million
Spring 2023
1.28 million
Autumn 2023
1.07 million
Spring 2024
1.1 million
Autumn 2024
950,000
Spring 2025
639,000
Autumn 2025
888,000
Press
953,000
Press
WM
Spring 2026
1.07 million
WM
927,000
Press
1.07 million
Milionerzy. 2 miliony
In June 2023, TVN announced plans to produce nine special episodes of the show under the name Milionerzy. 2 miliony (running on similar principles as the three million euro week in the German version). The top prize in the ninth episode is two million złoty – this amount is the highest (nominally, in PLN) prize offered so far in Polish game shows. The first episode of this special edition aired on 9 October 2023, and the final on 20 October.
Rules
During the first eight episodes, the contestants play in the traditional format – with twelve questions and one million złoty to win, with the difference, however, that there is a custom second milestone (introduced in the original British version in 2018; see underlined values) – before asking a question for a given stake, the host asks whether this amount – after giving a correct answer to the question – is to become the guaranteed sum; the contestant can therefore set the second milestone according to their own preferences.
Anyone who answers at least seven questions correctly advances to the final episode. The finalists once again compete in Fastest Finger First. The winner of the qualifying decides whether to keep their winnings from the qualifying episode and end their appearance in the show, or play for two million, risking to end the game with lower winnings. Before making a decision, the host informs how much of the original winnings the contestant will be able to keep regardless of the outcome of the game for two million.
Question number
Question value
Qualifying episodes (1–8)
Final episode (9)
1
500 zł
1,000 zł
2
1,000 zł
2,000 zł
3
2,000 zł
5,000 zł
4
5,000 zł
10,000 zł
5
10,000 zł
20,000 zł
6
20,000 zł
50,000 zł
7
40,000 zł
100,000 zł
8
75,000 zł
200,000 zł
9
125,000 zł
350,000 zł
10
250,000 zł
500,000 zł
11
500,000 zł
900,000 zł
12
1,000,000 zł
2,000,000 zł
Contestants have three standard lifelines available: ask the audience, 50:50, and phone a friend.
Special episodes
1999–2003
In February 2001, issued the first special edition of the show. These were episodes of Valentine's Day, which was attended by couples in love.
The Easter episode of the show was broadcast on the turn of March and April 2002. Pairs of actors participated in the show: Artur Barciś with Cezary Żak, Katarzyna Skrzynecka with Maciej Kozłowski and Anna Przybylska with Robert Gonera. All winnings summed up were 314,000 złoty. The winnings were given to charity TVN Nie jesteś sam (You aren't alone).
On Children's Day there were two special episodes, were shown on 1 and 2 June 2002, the prizes were given to the TVN charity. The participants were children attending primary schools. The prizes were the same as in usual episodes, but the questions were easier. Amount of money won in those episode was 64,000 złoty.
On 29 and 30 June there were special episodes where participants were people from Polish Big Brother. Players were playing in pairs: Monika Sewioło with Piotr Gulczyński, Ilona Stachura with Arkadiusz Nowakowski, Monika Brochacka with Piotr Borucki, Agnieszka Frykowska with Łukasz Wiewiórski, Alicja Walczak with Sebastian Florek and Karolina Jakubik with Wojciech Glanc. Winnings were given to Nie jesteś sam charity.
Also in 2002 TVN was broadcasting series of family episodes. Teams of three people were taking part, and all had to be related. Every team had its captain. The rules were the same as in normal episodes, but the captain decided about choosing an answer after consultations with the rest of family members. After winning 32,000 złoty, one person left the team and went to the audience; after winning 125,000 złoty another person left and only one person left had to answer last three questions. The highest prize in these editions was 250,000 złoty.
2008–2010
On 1 June 2008 (Children's Day) episode celebrities of Polish television were playing for money to build a cancer prevention center. The first pair of players were Piotr Gąsowski and Katarzyna Skrzynecka who won 40,000 złoty, and the second pair of players were Szymon Majewski and Ewa Drzyzga who won 125,000 złoty. Whole amount of money won was given to the Nie jesteś sam charity.
Next episodes were broadcast on 6 and 7 December 2008. In the first episode, Kinga Rusin and Bartosz Węglarczyk won 40,000 złoty, and in the second, Renata Dancewicz and Piotr Adamczyk won 500,000 złoty. The winnings were given to Nie jesteś sam charity.
Next episodes were broadcast on 25 and 26 December 2009. On the first day, Julia Kamińska and Filip Bobek won 40,000 złoty. On the second day, Marcin Prokop and Szymon Hołownia won 250,000 złoty. All of the winnings were given to Nie jesteś sam charity.
In 2010, special episodes were broadcast on 12 and 19 December. In the first episode, Karolina Korwin-Piotrowska and Michał Piróg won 500,000 złoty, and on the next episode (broadcast on 19 December) they didn't answer the final question for 1 million zł. Next contestants were Anita Werner and Grzegorz Kajdanowicz – they won 40,000 złoty. Winnings were to given to Nie jesteś sam charity.
2017–2025
In 2020, a special edition related with Santa Claus aired on 3 December. Winnings were given to the Nie jesteś sam charity.
Notable contestants
First edition
1,000,000 złoty question wrong (lost 468,000 złoty)
Filip Łapiński – 2 June 2002 (special edition with participation of children)
500,000 złoty winners
Władysław Kostrzewski – 21 October 2000
Zbigniew Chrzanowski – 21 May 2001
Jerzy Mirski – 14 October 2001
500,000 złoty question wrong (lost 218,000 złoty)
Leszek Musiał – 29 December 2000
Andrzej Bibel – 30 September 2001
Renata Dancewicz & Paweł Wilczak – 24 December 2001 (Celebrity Special)
Waldemar Myszkiewicz – 5 January 2002
Krzysztof Paliński – 3 March 2002
Ziemowit Stefański – 2 June 2002 (special edition with participation of children)
250,000 złoty winners
Krzysztof Karwowski – 5 March 2000
Jarosław Olejnicki – 5 May 2000
Marek Janowski – 8 October 2000
Stanisław Pietrasiewicz – 17 February 2001
Katarzyna Dobras – 28 February 2001
Jerzy Zadrożny – 12 March 2001
Tomasz Micorek – 24 September 2001
Artur Wiśniewski – 16 December 2001
Edyta Olszówka & Olaf Lubaszenko – 25 December 2001 (Celebrity Special)
Jarosław Bieniuk & Szymon Bieniuk – 1 June 2023 (Children's Day Special)
Zbigniew Szalak – 22 November 2023
Łukasz Meyer – 28 November 2023
Michalina Kwiecińska – 30 November 2023
Ewa Kubczak-Wodejko – 19 March 2024
Jacek Bargieł – 9 April 2024
Wioleta Adamiec – 18 April 2024
Anna Downar – 25 April 2024
Tomasz Witkiewicz – 6 May 2024
Katarzyna Seweryn – 28 November 2024
Rafał Sidorowicz – 12 December 2024
Fourth edition
1,000,000 złoty winners
Bartosz Radziejewski – 10 November 2025
Elżbieta Marszalec - 12 March 2026
500,000 złoty winners
Adrian Macielak – 22 October 2025
Agnieszka Bławaciuk - 5 October 2026
500,000 złoty question wrong (lost 200,000 złoty)
Natalia Kędziorek – 4 September 2025
Mateusz Białas – 26 November 2025
250,000 złoty winners
Adrian Pacuszka – 3 September 2025
Sabina Olech – 29 September 2025
Krzysztof Wypij – 2 October 2025
Bartłomiej Chomacki – 4 November 2025
Julia Dyś – 6 November 2025
Magdalena Ornoch – 27 May 2026
Aleksander Oziewicz – 9 June 2026
Grzegorz Sztolcman – 21 September 2026
Michał Sowa – 13 October 2026
250,000 złoty question wrong (lost 75,000 złoty)
Alina Budziszewska-Makulska – 17 September 2025
Aleksandra Ferdek – 15 October 2025
Martyna Zawadzka – 17 November 2025
Arkadiusz Falkiewicz – 18 November 2025
Danuta Talowska – 26 November 2025
Agnieszka Fabisiak – 26 February 2026
Rafał Stronk – 11 March 2026
Edyta Węgrzyn – 16 April 2026
Jędrzej Dominiczak – 23 April 2026
Michał Kuszneruk – 29 April 2026
Agata Weryszko – 28 May 2026
Michał Mizgała – 4 June 2026
125,000 złoty winners
Emil Serednicki – 9 October 2025
Małgorzata Wojtowicz – 13 October 2025
Beata Lewkowicz – 20 October 2025
Rita Winiarska – 30 October 2025
Magdalena Pasik – 25 February 2026
Krzysztof Kusiak – 10 March 2026
Paweł Szczurowski – 16 March 2026
Sławomir Walczuk – 1 April 2026
Łukasz Jurkowski & Jerzy Mielewski (Celebrity Easter Special) – 6 April 2026
Jakub Ferek – 7 May 2026
Paweł Mastalerz – 14 May 2026
Bożena Maryniak-Dudzik – 3 June 2026
Waldemar Sobera – 11 June 2026
Zuzanna Żak – 10 September 2026
Magdalena Sopińska – 29 September 2026
Questions for million złoty
In Milionerzy, 38 questions for one million złoty appeared. 26 players walked away, and 12 players answered the question. Two players answered incorrectly, while ten players answered correctly and won 1million złoty. Here are the questions:
Władysław Kostrzewski – 21 October 2000 (resigned)
The names of the five Polish cities are engraved on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, dedicated to the memory of the Napoleonic victories. Among the given cities with the one not engraved is:
Paddington Bear, whom the Brown family found at a train station in London, comes from the dark corners in...
Peru(correct answer)
Mexico
Russia
India
Tomasz Orzechowski – 19 September 2022 (gave a right answer)
1,000,000 zł (12 of 12)
Who in the mid-19th century composed the famous "Prayer of the Virgin", a piece played in Europe, in the United States, but the most popular in Japan to this day?
Mateusz Żaboklicki – 12 March 2024 (gave a right answer)
1,000,000 zł (12 of 12)
Tetrapods do not include:
reptiles
amphibians
birds
insects(correct answer)
Tomasz Boruch – 3 April 2024 (gave a right answer)
1,000,000 zł (12 of 12)
In what strait are two islands called Yesterday and Tomorrow, separated by less than four kilometers but with a time difference of as much as 21 hours?
in the Bosphorus Strait
in the Strait of Magellan
in the Caleta Strait
in the Bering Strait(correct answer)
Sławomir Świątecki – 17 April 2024 (resigned)
1,000,000 zł (12 of 12)
"Like the masters of sweets, they first give gifts when they train boys to make promises." The promise, i.e.:
alphabet(correct answer)
solemn oath
body rounding
harlotry
Marek Wojtuń – 13 November 2024 (gave a right answer)
1,000,000 zł (12 of 12)
The structure of the digestive system of which animal indicates that it is a predator?
llama
koala
panda(correct answer)
roe deer
Adrian Macielak – 22 October 2025 (resigned)
1,000,000 zł (12 of 12)
A Nupturient is someone who is getting ready:
for the wedding(correct answer)
for the final exams
into the army
to the concert
Bartosz Radziejewski – 10 November 2025 (gave a right answer)
1,000,000 zł (12 of 12)
The senses of a sapiosexual will be ignited by:
rare chateaubriand steak
selfie in pajamas
a quote from Kant or Einstein(correct answer)
photo from a holiday in Bali
Elżbieta Marszalec - 12 March 2026 (gave a right answer)
1,000,000 zł (12 of 12)
How many dimensions does a geometric point have?
zero(correct answer)
one
two
three
Agnieszka Bławaciuk - 5 October 2026 (resigned)
1,000,000 zł (12 of 12)
Hakes are rarely seen, but when they are, the easiest places to spot them are:
on the beach(correct answer)
in Krakow's Market Square
on a high mountain meadow
under the microscope
Faux pas
In Milionerzy there were three situations when a player lost because of a laxly said question and was restored to play.
The first player made a mistake in the question for 32,000 zł: "Who invented the steam engine?". He answered "James Watt", but the correct answer was "Charles Algernon Parsons". After a complaint to programme's producer, his answer was recognized as correct. The player won a guaranteed 32,000 zł, but he answered incorrectly in the next question for 64,000 zł.
The second player made a mistake in the question for 500 zł: "How many cuts are on Kaiser rolls?". He answered: "4" (the correct answer was "5") and he won nothing. After recognizing his answer, he answered incorrectly in the question for 1000 zł and he left the studio with nothing for the second time.
↑The experts were: in the autumn 2009 season – Andrzej Fabianowski, Piotr Gąsowski, Michał Ogórek and Kazimiera Szczuka; in the 2010 seasons – Bartosz Węglarczyk, Michał Ogórek, Szymon Hołownia, Dorota Wellman and Jan Wróbel.
12The exceptions are the 2017 Easter episodes, which aired on Saturday and Monday at 20:00, the final episode of the 2 million złoty week, which aired on Friday at 20:00, the 2024 Easter episode, which aired on Monday at 18:00, and the 2024 fall season episodes, which aired at 20:50.
↑The special (charity) episodes are longer, lasting 26–50 minutes. The finale of the 2 million złoty tournament lasted 60 minutes.
↑The broadcast date on Polsat was announced as 1 September 2026. However, the first episode of this season was released on 31 August 2026 on Polsat Box Go.
↑Not including the fourth (last) week of episodes.
↑All episodes except two special episodes (14 February and 1 June).
↑Kept 12,000 złoty after negotiating the opportunity to play for two million – his total winnings therefore amounted to 512,000 złoty.
↑M. I. Niemczyńska, "Hitchcock w teleturnieju" ("Hitchcock in a game show"), Gazeta Telewizyjna (Television Magazine) – addition to Gazeta Wyborcza, N°21, page 9
↑"Gazeta Wyborcza Łódź". Issue of 24 December 1999. Page 1.
↑"Gazeta Wyborcza". No. 30, issue of 5 February 2001. Page 9.
↑"Gazeta Wyborcza". No. 220, issue of 20 September 2001. Page 10.
↑Mirecka, Idalia (3 February 2003). "Koniec "Milionerów"". Tygodnik Przegląd (in Polish). Archived from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
