‘The Price Is Right’ to Return With Major Changes to Set and No Audience

Drew Carey in The Price is Right
Sonja Flemming/CBS

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.

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.
The Price Is Right

(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.

Stay tuned for these new episodes when The Price Is Right‘s latest installments begin airing on CBS.

The Price Is Right, Weekdays, CBS