‘The Million Second Quiz’: Ryan Seacrest tells us why he signed on

On Monday night, NBC is set to launch a massive two-week event in “The Million Second Quiz,” one that has been promoted extensively as an innovation to the way in which we watch and take part in game shows. You have an opportunity to literally be a part of the show this year, which features an app and games that allow you to play along, and if you get your score high enough, you could even be a contestant in the massive hourglass-shaped structure that has been built in Manhattan just for this event. The top contestants will literally live inside of the structure while they are a part of the competition.

Want to find out more about how the game works? Then just watch the video below. Today we had a chance to speak with the man at the center of it all: Host / executive producer Ryan Seacrest. When you look at everything he does, from hosting a radio show to filming “American Idol” auditions to all of the various things his company produces, you really wonder why he wanted to pick up another job. Well, he told us that much of it was all about being fascinated with the show’s concept as well as its scope:

“I think the ambition that Steven had in putting this together, the scale of the show, the fact that it is a live event. All of the things went through my head when I was figuring out if this was something I wanted to do. And frankly, it’s really been the first big idea I’ve heard in almost a decade that I really wanted to get in front of and host in primetime.

“After Paul Telegdy pitched be the idea, I said let’s go for it. Now that [I’m here], I’m not quite sure what I’ve gotten myself into. (Laughs.)”