When it comes to game shows, there’s something magical about them. The Wall offers a mixture of styles within one game, including strategy and luck. But at the heart of the series, it’s the life-changing moments, and host Chris Hardwick has been there for each and every one of them.
The Wall season 6 has just premiered on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, with one family walking away with a whopping $1.6 million. We chatted with Hardwick exclusively about that moment, but also about what makes this series so popular despite not always being on — and very often changing time slots.
GeekSided: Six seasons! How does it feel to get to this point?
Chris Hardwick: I keep forgetting that we’ve been doing the show for, well, we’re over 100 episodes. Another journalist reminded me that it’s been a decade, and it just seems mind-blowing to me. We shoot every so often. It’s not a show that’s ongoing in that sense. We’ll shoot a block of episodes, and then we’ll stop for a long time, and those episodes will get put together, and they’ll air.
So, because of that, it doesn’t feel like we’ve done the show for that long. I’m still like, “That new show I’m working on,” but no, it’s been around a while. I’m just really thankful that we get to do it. I get very excited when we go back. It’s such a gift of love, and I’ve been so lucky that everything I’ve worked on I’ve loved working on. Getting to do something that I love is the ultimate success, and the fact that I’ve gotten to do this for 10 years is incredible.
With so much time off between seasons [The Wall season 5 aired in 2024], so many other shows would struggle. What do you think makes this one so compelling that it continues to perform well?
They air the show pretty consistently, even when we’re not making new episodes. There are reruns, so I think to the people at home, it may not necessarily feel like there’s been a big break. People are like, “Oh, The Wall is on again,” but it’s an older episode.
I really think it’s the heart. On the one hand, it’s an incredibly well-done game show. Just as a game show, it’s cool. It’s a couple of different shows in one. There’s a team aspect to it, a game of chance because of how the balls fall, and a game of strategy. It gets a little Vegas at times, because people will triple up. Then there’s the trivia part, so it’s really a few episodes in one.
Then there’s the whole other dimension to it, which is the emotional part of the game, the heart of the show. No two shows feel exactly the same, even though there are only a couple of outcomes: they either win or they don’t. But the journey to that includes some beautiful life lessons. It’s just enjoyable to watch.
There’s this roller coaster ride, which pays off in an emotional way in the end. I have friends who are cynical comedians who’ll be like, “Why am I crying at a game show?” They can’t help but get pulled in, so I think that has really helped.
It’s also just a testament to the amazing audience who watches the show. It changes time slots every season, and people still follow it. It’s a gift of a show.
You’re dealing with life-changing moments for so many contestants.
We are!
Sometimes, you’re there as a shoulder to lean on, but other times, you get to celebrate with them. What’s that like for you as the host of the series?
That’s a wonderful question because you really identified exactly what my job is. I’m just there to be whatever they need me to be, and sometimes that is a shoulder. Sometimes, it’s a high five, and sometimes, it’s a celebration.
I’ve seen people just need a moment and we just sit on the floor and take a breath. I feel like I’m just there to guide them. My goal every episode is to make the experience the best that it can be for them. I want them to have the best experience they can possibly have, because I do understand and sympathize with the fact that one day they’re in their hometown and the next day, they’re in Los Angeles, California, in a big studio with a giant, wall-sized machine that’s going to change their lives forever.
I really understand what that can mean. The people who have come on have given so much more to life than what they’ve gotten back in a lot of cases, and this is their moment, so I want to make sure that they feel taken care of and guided through.
I try to remind them to be present. Don’t think too much about the future. Just focus on the present.
The Wall season 6 premiere was intense and amazing. Steven and Seth won big. What was going through your mind with those decisions they had to make?
There are really difficult decisions to make. I don’t know what the outcome of the show is going to be until they say it. The showrunner doesn’t tell me [about the decision with the contract]. I want to be in the moment with them, because I want my reaction to be authentic. I also want to take the journey with them.
It’s like when I did The Talking Dead. I never watched ahead, because I wanted to take the journey with the audience, because to me, it felt like the most authentic path.
[On The Wall], I try to figure things out through body language, just so that I can figure it out, but I never know. It’s an incredible moment, the absolute joy and relief that you feel. You feel all the emotions because you’re really just tensing up the whole episode.
I was always checking in with Steven to see how he was doing. I kept telling him there was plenty of game to play and that he was doing great. I’d say, “Don’t worry if you’re stressed.” I’ll go over and talk to whoever they brought with them to make sure they’re doing okay. It really is just constantly checking in with them.
Then right at the end, it was the best outcome. I’m so thankful for that.
Is there a standout moment from the five seasons so far?
That’s a tough question to answer, because they’re all so unique. I love telling people when they come out from the trivia and aren’t sure how they did and think they got one or two and I say, “You got five questions right.” There’s such a lesson in trusting yourself, because a lot of time, people will see all the answers or the clues, and immediately say, “Oh gosh, I don’t know what this is,” and then they take a breath and start eliminating answers.
It's probably stuff we learned from taking the SATs in high school, just to eliminate the ones we know are wrong, and then I watch people arrive at the answer that they didn’t think they knew and they get it right. It’s one of those universal takeaways of trying your gut and not second-guessing yourself too much. Do the best with the information that you have.
It’s why I’m so thankful for The Wall. What other game show can you walk away from and say, “I could apply this to life?” It’s an incredibly rewarding show. I’ve loved all the shows I’ve been fortunate to host, but this one especially, because the stakes are real. I know that Steven and Seth will go home with this life-changing money, and they’ll do good with it. It’s just very satisfying on a soulful level.
The Wall airs on Mondays at 9/8c on NBC.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.