If you thought Deal or No Deal couldn’t be any more interesting, guess again because there is an all-new spin-off on the horizon, with a huge twist.
The game show aired in the United States for almost four years and followed participants as they randomly selected briefcases holding cash sums ranging from a cent to $1 million. They were then offered the option of gambling to secure additional money or accepting an offer from the programme’s mystery Banker.
However, TV executives have changed things up significantly this time around, bringing contestants to paradise for a chance to win $200 million, with various quantities concealed across the island.
Contestants must complete challenges to obtain boxes, which are then utilised in nightly Deal or No Deal games, with the person who discovers the highest value briefcase receiving ‘immunity’ and the ability to pick who plays a high stakes game.
Deal or No Deal Island premieres on NBC on February 26 and will be available for streaming on in the United States the following day, but a UK release date has yet to be established.
However, viewers struggled to grasp the premise, with many asking whether it was a genuine performance.
Unpacking the premise on Reddit, the aptly named Fantastic Name penned: ‘This sounds like a fake 30 Rock show.
Cotothed agreed: ‘This show sounds like something chat GPT would create.’
LocalFella9 replied: ‘Yeahhh I have no coherent thoughts on this, feels like someone threw darts at a word cloud but sure why not, I’m down [sic].’
As The_Nintendo_Cop added: ‘Lmao what lol. I mean, Deal or No Deal and Survivor are two of the best reality shows ever so it might be good but this idea is so insane and stupid it might actually be genius.’
Thankfully, we don’t have long to wait before we find out, as Deal or No Deal Island is premiering later this month, before landing on .
A number of players, including reality TV legends ‘Boston’ Rob Mariano from Survivor and the Amazing Race, and Claudia Jordan from Real Housewives of Atlanta, will call the island home.
Joe Manganiello will host, with models Ben Crofchick and Kamari Love taking on the role of Banker’s Assistants.
‘In Deal or No Deal Island, the iconic briefcases are hidden around the island and worth over $200million in prize money split between them,’ the official synopsis reads. ‘In each episode, players compete in daring challenges to secure the briefcases that will be used in that night’s game of Deal or No Deal.
‘The player who snags the highest-value case gains immunity and gets to choose a fellow player to enter The Temple. The chosen competitor must then play a high-stakes game of Deal or No Deal.
‘If the player makes a “bad deal” and accepts an offer that is a lesser value than what is in their chosen case, they are immediately eliminated. If the player makes a “good deal” and accepts an offer that is a higher value than what is in their case, the power is in their hands and they get to select who to eliminate.’
The earnings from each game are combined to a collective pot, with the last player confronting the Banker and potentially walking away with ‘the greatest reward in Deal or No Deal history’.
The original game show premiered in the United States in 2005, with Howie Mandel directing events as competitors selected a briefcase with cash amounts ranging from a cent to $1 million.
It went on hiatus in 2009 until returning as a ‘Christmas special’ in 2018; the final episode aired the following year.
Deal or No Deal Island premieres on February 26 at 9.30pm ET on NBC.
