This week, you’ll see familiar faces when past participants from CBS reality series Survivor, Big Brother and The Amazing Race stop by long-running game show The Price Is Right to help their biggest fans win fabulous prizes. TPIR executive producer Mike Richards says of the three special episodes (airing Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday), “We had a lot of fun incorporating these huge iconic reality shows. It wasn’t just about having the castaways or houseguests or the racers there, it was about incorporating the entire show so that the prizes are in some way related to the show(s).” He shares that the TPIR set will get a new look courtesy of elements from each series, including a very special floor covering from The Amazing Race. “That finish line carpet is the same one they have used on every season,” marvels Richards. “It has traveled all over the world!”
The fun begins Monday, when Survivor favorites including “Boston Rob” Mariano, Rupert Boneham, Tina Wesson and Woo Hwang try to outwit, outplay and out-price each other on The Price Is Right Primetime Special: Survivor Edition. “We have an audience full of Survivor fans,” explains Richards, “and in one section, there’s what we lovingly call ‘Survivorland’ — which is 30 to 40 former Survivor castaways. Each contestant is paired with one Survivor castaway and they play the game together. The contestants get the prize. The castaways help them work.”
Tuesday’s Big Brother edition will feature past houseguests including Season 2 winner Will Kirby, frequent houseguest Janelle Pierzina and Season 16 favorite Frankie Grande. They won’t have the power of veto, but perhaps they’ll help their mega-fan partners with the power of Plinko! “If you’re going to do a big spectacular, you’ve got to have Plinko,” teases Richards.
The fun concludes on Wednesday with the Amazing Race edition. The game gets more crowded as contestants’ row gets filled with pairs of former racers plus super-fans. “We actually built a modified bidders’ row area — that is wider — that fits all those people!” Richards reveals. The episode will feature favorites including Season 27 winners Joey and Kelsey, Season 17 champs Nat and Kat, and Harlem Globetrotters “Big Easy” and “Flight Time.”
The teams will battle roadblocks, detours and a yodeling mountain climber on their quests to help fans win prizes that are nods to their respective shows. And of course, new cars, laughs Richards. “We’re The Price Is Right, that’s what we do!”
TPIR host Drew Carey will ringlead the silly circus, and popping in to say hello to the former racers, castaways and houseguests (and model a few prizes) are hosts Jeff Probst (Survivor), Julie Chen (Big Brother) and Phil Keoghan (The Amazing Race). “Drew is so great with having multiple people around him. That is where he really thrives,” says Richards. “Then you have Julie or Phil or Jeff and they’re out there modeling prizes and hamming it up and having a great time.”
The Price is Right Primetime Specials > CBS >Monday, May 23-Wednesday, May 25 at 8pm ET/PT
