'Boston Legal' star to host ABC game show

LOS ANGELES -- William Shatner, who's been a Starfleet captain, tough-guy cop, lecherous lawyer and even a bit of a singer in his long career, will soon be able to add "game show host" to his resume.

Shatner, who currently stars on "Boston Legal," will serve as host for "Show Me the Money," a game show set to air sometime later this season on ABC. It comes from Endemol USA, the go-to game-show producers behind "Deal or No Deal" and another ABC effort, "Set for Life."

"Bill was the guy we wanted from day one to host 'Show Me the Money,'" says David Goldberg, president of Endemol USA. "More than anything, we were looking for a great showman, and in addition to being an instantly recognizable entertainer to audiences of all ages, Bill's got a naturally warm and witty presence that is simply perfect for the material."

The network isn't saying much about how "Show Me the Money" works. Contestants will have to answer trivia questions to accumulate winnings. The twist is that players also "must contend with a never-before-seen mechanism that can cut contestants' winnings to nothing or instantly catapult them into the millions."

Shatner won consecutive Emmys in 2004 and '05 for playing the pompous, oversexed attorney Denny Crane -- first as a guest star on "The Practice" and then as a regular on "Boston Legal." He's still best known, though, as Capt. James T. Kirk of "Star Trek."

He's appeared on several game shows in the past, including "What's My Line?" and "The Match Game," but "Show Me the Money" will be his first time hosting one.