NEW YORK, N.Y. — “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,” with Emmy Award-winning host Meredith Vieira, has kicked off its seventh season in national syndication by announcing new changes to the game, which are guaranteed to keep contestants and viewers on the edges of their seats — including questions played against a clock, updated lifelines and a brand new partnership with Skype, which will enable contestants to “Ask the Expert” for assistance through a face-to face video call.

Among those trying out the changes is Marie Curren, 52, a director of vacation rentals from Gulf Shores. She will be a contestant in the “Millionaire” hot seat with Vieira on episodes airing Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 16-17, at 6:30 p.m., on WEAR 3 in Pensacola.

Curren will be having a viewing party on Wednesday at a watering hole in Gulf Shores to watch her second episode of “Millionaire” with friends and family.

She is married to Trem, who came with her to New York City and sat in the audience as her on-air companion for the show.

Curren jokes that the area is the “Redneck Riviera” because it’s an affordable place to visit, with miles of white sand beaches — but also the only place she knows of that has an annual mullet toss.

Bruce Springsteen used to play at Curren’s high school dances, and she went to college with and lived in the same dorm as Bruce Willis. She said that she used to tell him to quiet down and go to bed — “he was the rowdy one,” she said.

Curren has been involved with an animal rescue center that helps find homes for abandoned animals. She and her husband built an extreme dog house with white columns and a brick porch to be auctioned off.

She said that if she won big on “Millionaire,” she would donate to the animal shelter and Relay for Life, pay off her mortgage and take a dream trip to China.

“Millionaire has been both made over and restored this season,” says Michael Davies, executive producer.  “We have looked at every element of the show — the music, the graphics, the questions, the contestants, the lifelines and the overall game play — and figured out how to make them stronger, more contemporary, more relatable and more exciting to the viewer. We’ve held on to all of the fundamental elements that people love about the brand — but have built on that, to create the same level of emotion, drama and visual innovation that characterized the introduction of ‘Millionaire’ to the U.S. in 1999.”