Dan Stabb will appear on The Miz episode of NBC's Password at 10 p.m. June 23, putting the Wilmington improv director on a national stage with Jimmy Fallon and Mike "The Miz" Mizanin. He is playing for $25,000, a prize that turns a guest spot into a real on-air contest.
"It's still kind of mind-blowing," Stabb said of the appearance, and the route there was not casual. A casting director reached out last summer after finding him through Fearless Improv's Facebook page, then a series of Zoom interviews and auditions led to filming in New Jersey.
Password on NBC
Password debuted on CBS in 1961 and returned on NBC in 2022, now in its third season with Keke Palmer as host. That gives Stabb a slot on a revived format that still leans on celebrity pairings to drive attention, and his episode is built around Fallon and The Miz rather than a standard contestant lineup.
The setup also explains why this appearance carries more weight than a routine local-TV cameo. Stabb is 46 years old and works as director of admissions and professional development for Zip Code Wilmington, while also running Wilmington's Fearless Improv, doing voiceover work, and coaching improvisation. In one hour, he moves from a regional creative role into a nationally televised game for cash.
Sara kept the secret
"It was tricky," Stabb said about keeping the appearance under wraps, and he said he had to be "kind of elusive" with his PTO. "I had to be kind of elusive with my PTO. With work, I had to be like, 'It's a thing, and I can't really talk about the thing. But if the thing happens, then I'll let you know what the thing is.'" The secret only went to his wife, Sara, which meant coworkers and family had to wait until the episode aired.
"My hope is that we're all going to be able to watch and experience it together," he said, which leaves the episode with a simple but effective payoff: the reveal happens in public, not in advance. For Stabb, that makes June 23 less a nostalgia beat than a deadline, because the outcome will finally answer whether his run on Password turns into the $25,000 prize.
July 10 at Chancery Market
July 10 brings Stabb back to Wilmington for the next Fearless Improv show at Chancery Market Food Hall at 8 p.m., with tickets priced at $22.50 online or $25 at the door. Produced by City Theater Company, that date gives local audiences a chance to see the performer after his NBC turn has already aired.
For now, the practical step is simple: watch NBC at 10 p.m. June 23, then judge whether the contestant who got the call out of the blue last summer can convert a secret filming trip into the kind of win that changes a night on television into a headline for Delaware.
