‘The Wall’ Host Chris Hardwick Speaks Out After 9/11 Hero’s Stunning $1.6 Million Win

Tears flowed during the Season 6 premiere of The Wall as 9/11 hero Steven Hardeman and his 18-year-old son Seth won a staggering $1,660,629. The huge win was the third biggest in the show’s history, behind a $1.74 million jackpot in Season 3. Host Chris Hardwick was also caught up in the emotional scenes at the end of the January 5 episode. The dramatic decision to rip up the guaranteed contract worth $170,000 rested on the shoulders of teenager Seth, who sat in isolation while the balls dropped down the massive 40-foot pegboard. 

The college student took the leap of faith knowing what it would mean for the family, especially his dad. Steven is a retired police officer of 15 years who went into the Pentagon to rescue others during the September 11 attack. He received the Declaration of Valor from the Governor of Virginia for his acts of bravery. Hardeman had since become a beloved school resource officer. 

For Hardwick, this story exemplified what the NBC game show was all about. Here the TV personality reflects on the heartwarming moment, words of wisdom given to him from the late Alex Trebek, and teases what’s to come. 

Pictured: (l-r) Chris Hardwick, Steven Hardeman– (Photo by: Greg Gayne/NBC)

What was going through your mind watching the scene unfold between father and son? 

Chris Hardwick: Nothing else I can compare that moment to because I don’t know what the outcome is until they reveal it. I feel like in the first season I’m pretty sure I said or someone said that I want to find out when the contestants find out. Just because I would rather be in the moment with them. I’m never able to predict did he sign it, did he rip it up the contract. Even though I’m not seated, I’m literally on the edge of my seat just like everyone else. Look, it takes two hours to three hours to shoot an episode. Just because the actual Wall is such a large device that every time we swap out the dollar amounts and everything, it just takes a bit of time to shoot an episode. So, I spend a lot of time with the person who is out in front. The one who is deciding where the balls are going to drop from. So, I really get to know them.

For me, I feel like it’s kind of like I’m doing a podcast with them if that makes sense. I’m just getting to know them as much as I can. And, oh by the way, we’re also playing this game in the process. I think I’m more emotionally invested because I’m there with them for so much more time. The sense of relief that I have when it plays out that way. I can finally breathe again. I never would have predicted that, even watching a game show, hosting a game show, could be such an emotional experience. I grew up during the game show boom of the 1980s. Those game shows were fun, but they weren’t emotional. It’s this incredible dimension of contestants we have who are such amazing examples of humans that you just root for. You root for every one of them and get invested. The same thing that gives you the relief when they win is what really just feels like can’t breathe when they don’t win. I’m so glad that was the result. They were such lovely people. It was a good episode to kick off this mini run coming up. 

Pictured: (l-r) Steven & Seth Hardeman — (Photo by: Greg Gayne/NBC)

This is such a game-changing amount of money for this family. Do you follow up with them? 

Our showrunner Andrew Glassman does check in on people. He really is the soul of the show. He checks in way after just to see how they’re doing and how everything turned out. The other thing is you used to watch these old game shows and not know what they’re going to do with the money. Someone one $20,000 on a game show, but it’s not like you’re going to wonder how it’s going to filter back into their community. You don’t know what they do with it. The fact you know people come on, getting this life-changing money, and you know it’s either going to help them out tremendously as they are in need and/or a lot of it will filter back into whatever is going on in their community. It really is such a feel-good show that it’s an absolute joy to host. 

Your hosting career really started on dating shows 30 years ago for Singled Out and Shipmates. How do you reflect on all those experiences? How would you say it prepared you for what you’re doing now? 

That’s a great question. Every show is different. The Wall is different to Talking Dead, which is different to @midnight, which is different than hosting a podcast. Last year, I did a show about a Disney auction [Up For Auction]. Even stuff I learned from The Wall helped me with the show like that because at the end of the day it’s about unlocking the stories and finding out who people are and getting to know them and can we learn from them. I never knew what I do could be that. I’ve loved every job I’ve had. Talking Dead could be a very emotional show at times. The main difference for The Wall is the stakes are very real. It isn’t just about the love and fandom we have for shows. It’s the stakes because you know this money will change their lives and help them tremendously.

I kind of have a thing I do when I go on a new show, which is to listen to what the show wants and how I can assist that. I’m in service for whatever the show is. For this, it’s sort of helping people get through this process, which I’m sure is very surreal. One day they’re in their hometown, and they get on the plane, and all of a sudden they are under this four-story building-size wall that can literally change their lives in a matter of hours. That weighs on me. I feel like I have a lot of responsibility to make sure they have the experience possible because I don’t know I would do on the show. It’s a lot of pressure. 

@midnight/Chris Hardwick

Let alone like in the premiere where it’s an 18-year-old son who wants to do right by his father. I can’t imagine how he felt. Maybe knowing if it had gone another way, the guilt Seth would feel. 

I always tell people whatever they decide was the best decision they made in the moment because for the people who do rip up contracts and if it does go that way, then it’s like, “Look, you were betting on the best possible result.” It really isn’t easy in either direction. I don’t know what I would do. I guess I would answer trivia because I think I’d be pretty good with trivia. I think my wife would be amazing in front because she would know how to play. Even so, how do you not second-guess yourself when you’re back there? Even if the answer is so obvious, you may go, “Wait a minute. The stakes are quite high. Am I really sure about this?” I know it’s not an easy journey. They all just navigate it beautifully. I do the best I can to do that. 

You’ve been on a number of shows as a contestant over the years as well. One you did was Celebrity Jeopardy! in 1997. What did you take from that experience? 

The questions were hard, but they weren’t as hard. I don’t remember them being as hard. It was still a lot of pressure. The biggest hang-up for me on Jeopardy! was the timing of the buzzer. If you hit your buzzer when you anticipate when to buzz in, I think there is like a split second before you could buzz in again. So, that gives another an opportunity if they time it better. That was an incredible experience for me because it’s Jeopardy!, you know? The difference between a Jeopardy! and The Wall is you can not second-guess yourself on Jeopardy! because there is no time. There are two other people who probably know the answer. Then it’s a race to who can get it out first and make sure it’s in the form of a question. With The Wall, part of the challenge is the time you have to sit with it. I’ve seen people talk themselves out of answers that were correct because they second-guessed. It changes the dynamic of what the game show is. A lot of game shows there is just no time. 

 

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Being on Jeopardy!, you got to experience Alex Trebek firsthand. Is there anyone like him or another game show host you pulled from? Maybe words of advice you took to heart? 

Alex Trebek was wonderful. He did my podcast, and he definitely was one of the all-time greats. The thing I remember he told me was, “I’m not the star of the show. The contestants are the stars of the show. He was there to facilitate that for them” In the end, he was the star though. He was just legendary. But there are so many other game show hosts, too. How do you even pick? I literally watched all of them. I knew growing up if I was watching The Price Is Right it meant there was no school that day because it came on at like 10 a.m. It was either summer, I was sick, or there was a school holiday. Watching Bob Barker be so fun an affable or even Drew [Carey]. There is just so many amazing hosts to draw from. At the end of the day, I think the best ones are making it about the contestants and the show. I hope that’s what I do. I hope I’m honoring all their legacies. 

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What do you want to tease about the heartwarming stories to come? 

The second episode I believe is an incredible story about a firefighter. Someone leaves an infant at a safe haven, and ultimately, he and his wife ultimately adopt the baby. It’s such an incredible story. They are such wonderful people. There is also a snowboarder who saves someone. I mean literally digging someone out of snow who was buried in snow. There are all sorts of stories of people just being compassionate, empathetic, and putting other people first. I feel very proud we get to make a show where we give them a chance to be put first. 

The Wall, Mondays, 9/8c, NBC