Why did they take The Price Is Right off the air?

Get ready to “come on down” to CBS for new episodes of The Price Is Right, which is going back into production following coronavirus shutdowns.

The long-running game show is getting back to work with a redesigned set to allow for COVID-friendly game play, according to Deadline. And in a first for the show’s near 50 years on air, The Price Is Right will go without its audience.

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Showrunner Evelyn Warfel revealed that plans for a production rework began as early as March with the team behind CBS’ program creating new guidelines consistent with local, state, and guild rules. “We quickly realized we were not going to be able to have 300 people on the show sitting close together,” she told Deadline. “We decided that we were going to come back without an audience to maintain the safety as best we could for our talent, for the contestants, for our staff and crew.

“If we want to come back, we have to do it safely,” continued Warfel. So, while The Price Is Right will go without an audience, no games are being sacrificed. All 77 games will continue to play a role in the socially distanced iteration.

(Credit: CBS)

Filming will also change as the average number of episodes shot per day goes from two to three to make up for lost time. And in order to reduce exposure, one filming day will take place on Sundays when less people are on the lot. Some physical changes viewers will notice include a decked over audience section and a Bidder’s Row that now puts players six feet apart from each other.

And when it comes to the wheel? Everyone is allowed to give it a spin, but sanitizing will take place between contestants. “We’ve made some changes to some games… but they will be all spinning the wheel. They’re able to all touch the wheel. They just have to sanitize their hands first, and then after that, the first wheel spin, the wheel will be sanitized for the next wheel spin,” said Warfel.

14. With contestant favorite Plinko, named, as you might imagine, for the "plink, plink, plink" sounds the chips make as they drop, players can nab up to $25,000. But the chips may be just as valuable, with CBS revealing there are just 10 Plinko chips in creation and they're considered so special that they're locked away after each use. 

15. And according to a redditor, one person truly got the luck of the draw when they happened to play the game just after it'd been used for an ad, an invisible fishing line inserted so that the chip would be directed to the $10,000 slot. After the contestant won $30,000 ("Everybody's screaming, Drew is literally jumping up and down," the redditor recalled), a producer bolted out just as she dropped her fourth chip "and SLAMS his hand against the token as it falls," the witness wrote. Having figured out the mishap, producers reshot the segment, but the Plinko player still pocketed her $30,000, plus an extra $3,000 she won in the do-over. 

In honor of the game show celebrating its 50th anniversary later this fall, The Price Is Right host Drew Carey announced The Price Is Right Come On Down Tour. The longest-running game show in TV history will be coming to fans in major cities across the U.S. starting on Friday, March 25 with the first stop at Santa Monica Pier in California.

Fans who attend the one-day launch event will get to play Plinko, spin the wheel and compete for a showdown. What’s more, folks will also win prizes that support local businesses with “deep ties” to the original premiere date back in September 1972. After The Price Is Right fans enjoy a game day by the beach complete with a lit up Santa Monica Pier Ferris wheel, viewers will have a chance to win a grand prize of $50,000. According to the show’s website, fans who are at least 18 years of age can enter the sweepstakes one time from March 25 to May 27. A winner’s name will be drawn on May 30.

Upon hearing the happy news, fans couldn’t contain their excitement. “What?! What!! WHATTTT!!!!! 😍😍😍😍😍😍🤩🤩🤩🤩,” one person wrote on Instagram. “OMG I literally HAVE to go When you come to DENVER 🙌🙌🏻🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼,” another added. “See you in Drew’s hometown!! Cleveland rocks!!” a different fan said.

If you’re interested in attending The Price Is Right Come On Down Tour, check out the scheduled stops below. You can also sign up to potentially become a contestant on the show. Though the tour will consist of 50 stops at “America’s most iconic locations,” there will only be a handful of sites where fans can participate. It’s important to note that proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required at the door and must be in-hand before entering events. So far, we know the tour is stopping in:

1. Los Angeles, California – Friday, March 25
2. Denver, Colorado – Friday, April 1
3. Dallas, Texas – Thursday, April 7
4. New Orleans, Louisiana – Friday, April 15
5. Nashville, Tennessee – Friday, April 22
6. St. Louis, Missouri – Thursday, April 28
7. Cleveland, Ohio – Friday, May 6
8. New York, New York – Wednesday, May 18

While we don’t know if Drew will be at all of the tour stops, he’s previously expressed how close he keeps the show and fans to his heart. As viewers may know, the actor and comedian was named the successor of longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.

“Hosting The Price Is Right has been a dream job for me,” Drew told Deadline in August 2021. “I really never thought my safe space would be on a sound stage, wearing a mic, cameras on me constantly, and with millions of people watching. But that’s what The Price Is Right is for me. I love it.”

Selena is the associate entertainment and news editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers the latest on TV, movies and celebrities. In addition to writing and editing entertainment news, she also spotlights the Hispanic and Latinx community through her work. She is a graduate of CUNY Hunter College with a B.A. in journalism and creative writing.

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