Underplayed Gems

Let's Make a Deal (2009)

Let's Make a Deal poster
Directed by
Joseph Behar
Genre
game show
Country
United States
Length
6 seasons, 1395 episodes
Rated
TV-PG
Rating
7.5 of 10 from 11 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More series like this

How it feels

Audience members dress in flashy costumes and make bets with the host. They choose to keep a prize or trade it for something hidden, which could be valuable or a joke gift.

energeticplayfulsuspensefullightheartedwhimsicalcrowd-pleasingfast-pacedsurprising

What happens

Let's Make a Deal (also known as LMAD) is an American television game show that originated in the United States in 1963 and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The program was created and produced by Stefan Hatos and Monty Hall, the latter serving as its host for nearly 30 years. The format of Let's Make a Deal involves selected members of the studio audience, referred to as "traders", making deals with the host. In most cases, a trader will be offered something of value and given a choice of whether to keep it or exchange it for a different item. The program's defining game mechanism is that at least one of the items is hidden from the trader until the choice has been made. Only after the items are revealed does the trader learn if they have chosen something of a higher or lower value than their starting item, or if they have received a comedic "zonk" prize with little or no value. When Let's Make a Deal first started, contestants wore suits and dresses, normal attire for the time. In short order, however, audience members began to dress in outrageous and unique costumes to increase their chances of being selected as a trader, and that has become a signature feature of the show. The current edition of Let's Make a Deal has aired on CBS since October 5, 2009, when it took over the spot on the network's daytime schedule vacated by the soap opera Guiding Light. Wayne Brady is the host of the current series, with Jonathan Mangum as his announcer/assistant. Tiffany Coyne is the current model, joining in 2010, with musician Cat Gray in 2011. The 15th season of the current version premiered on September 25, 2023, and six primetime episodes were filmed during the season. One is the show's Christmas primetime episode, and five more were broadcast in January and February 2024, between seasons of Survivor. The show is owned by Glass Entertainment Group (owned by Nancy Glass) following an August 2021 acquisition of Hatos-Hall assets, with Sharon Hall, a former Endemol Shine executive, as the consultant. As of January 2022, CAN'T STOP media has been in charge of the format's international distribution. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.