How ‘The Price Is Right,’ ‘Jeopardy’ And Other Game Shows Changed During Pandemic

Daytime and Primetime game shows were among the programs that were forced to halt production entirely during the early days of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and fans clamored for new episodes of shows like “Jeopardy,” “Wheel of Fortune,” “Let’s Make A Deal” and “The Price Is Right” as the pandemic wore on.

Now, following Primetime returns of “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune,” “The Price Is Right” and “Let’s Make A Deal” are also making a comeback—with nighttime slots. However, like the ABC programs, the CBS shows have seen quite a few changes and some very different protocols on set because of the Coronavirus. Drew Carey, the show’s host, as well as Executive Producer Showrunner Evelyn Warfel, revealed some of the changes during interviews on “CBS This Morning” on Saturday.

Among the changes, which include crew members wearing masks and working zones, safety protocols like cleaning and testing, there is no live studio audience—which created a problem as the show tried to figure out the right way to keep certain elements of the show still alive.

“You don’t hear George [Gray] say ‘Come on Down,’ at the top of the show, it’s not ‘The Price is Right,’” Warfel said. “So I think for us, the biggest challenge was how are we going to do a ‘Come on Down’ without an audience, and we struggled with that.”

Now, Carey revealed, the contestants will be backstage, with masks on, waiting for their names to be called, and once that happens, they will run out without their masks on and can still have some of the exuberance they previously had when they could come on down to contestants’ row.

“I haven’t been backstage to look at it, but I've been told about it,” he said. “They unhook their ears and they hold their mask over their face, and if they hear their name, they throw the mask down and run out, just as surprised.”

I Heart Radio reports that they will also be separated backstage, and once on stage, the podiums will all be spaced six feet apart.

The changes for “Let’s Make A Deal,” according to Deadline, will include a new hybrid model of the show, featuring virtual and in-studio audience members, with 12 people in separate pods in the audience.

Their returns come after ABC’s primetime game shows returned with new episodes in September, with changes to both of their sets to accommodate social distancing, as well as no audiences.

Game shows aren’t the only ones that have made changes due to the pandemic, as reality shows and scripted series’ also eye returns. On ABC, “Dancing With the Stars” returned in September with a newly redesigned set, no live audience, distancing between the teams and host, and an expanded judge’s desk which keeps Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli all six feet apart from one another as well.

As for scripted shows, all have used different approaches, with soap operas being among the earliest to return to sets with increased testing and safety protocols, and in some cases, substituting actors for real-life partners for scenes requiring close contact.

“The Price Is Right” primetime specials begin airing Tuesday on CBS.