The Price is Right: Celebrity Edition

***The Price Is Right Celebrity Edition*** is a primetime spin-off of the CBS daytimeAmerican game show *The Price is Right*. It is a 13-episode series consisting of a TPIR game played by 117 celebrities. Their winnings in the episode are donated to a charity of their choice.

Unlike previous Primetime iterations of The Price Is Right on CBS such as the *$1,000,000 Spectacular* and *The Price is Right: At Night*, which were special editions of TPIR, Celebrity Edition is a separate entity, airing in a different time slot and during the Summer when the Daytime version is on reruns until the fall. Since 2015, the series has aired as part of CBS' "Summer Fun & Games" block of primetime game shows.

## History

The first incarnation of the spin-off, titled "The Price Is Right: $1,000,000 Summer Celebrity Spectacular" was broadcast in 2009 as part of CBS' 2009 Lineup of summer series. Instead of featuring the current host of the daytime version, Drew Carry, the first incarnation of the celebrity version was hosted by Tom Kenny, the voice of the titular character in *SpongeBob SquarePants* and associated media (which aired on fellow Paramount Global property, Nickelodeon). This incarnation only lasted for one season before it was cancelled in March 2010. There were ten episodes, with the first episode airing on June 24, 2009, and the last episode airing on August 26, 2009.

On April 9, 2015, CBS announced that it had picked up a new TPIR spin-off called *The Price Is Right Celebrity Edition*, premiering on June 21, 2015, and hosted by Drew Carrey—the current host of the daytime version of *TPIR*. Unlike the daytime version of *Price*, which was taped at Television City in Los Angeles, both versions have been produced at Paramount's Orlando Escape in Orlando, Florida. On August 4, 2016, CBS renewed *The Price Is Right Celebrity Edition* for a fourth season. On August 6, 2017, CBS renewed *The Price Is Right Celebrity Edition* for a fifth season and premiered on June 10, 2018. On August 7, 2018, CBS renewed *The Price Is Right Celebrity Edition* for a sixth season, which premiered on June 9, 2019. On November 20, 2019, the series was renewed for a seventh season which premiered on May 31, 2020. On March 28, 2021, the series was renewed for an eighth season which premiered on June 6, 2021. On April 1, 2022, the series was renewed for a ninth season, which premiered on July 10, 2022. On January 11, 2023, the series was renewed for a tenth season, which premiered on July 9, 2023.

## Series overview

Main article: List of Celebrity Family Feud episodes

## Format

The gameplay of the show consists of four distinct competition elements, in which nine preliminary celebrities are eventually narrowed to two finalists who compete in the game's final element, the "Showcases”.

### One Bid

At the start of the show, four celebrities are called from the audience by the announcer to take a spot in the front row behind bidding lecterns, which were embedded into the front edge of the stage. This area is known as "Contestants' Row" or "Bidders' Row”. After calling each selected contestant's name, the announcer shouts "Come on down!”, a phrase which has become a trademark of the show.

The four celebrities in Contestants' Row compete in a bidding round to determine which contestant will play the next pricing game. A prize is shown and each contestant gives a single bid for the item. In the first One Bid game of each episode, bidding begins with the contestant on the viewer's left (usually the first contestant who came down) and proceeds right. In subsequent One Bid rounds, the order of bidding still moves from the viewer's left-to-right, but begins with the contestant most recently called down to the row. Contestants are instructed to bid in whole dollars since the retail price of the item is rounded to the nearest dollar, and another contestant's bid cannot be duplicated. The contestant whose bid is closest to the actual retail price of the prize without going over wins that prize and gets to play the subsequent pricing game.

If all four celebrities overbid, several short buzzer tones sound, the lowest bid is announced and the bids are erased. The host then instructs the celebrities to re-bid below the lowest previous bid. In the event of another overbid, the re-bidding process continues until there is at least one contestant that did not overbid. Because of time constraints, overbids may be edited out of the broadcast.

If a contestant bids the actual retail price, a bell rings and the contestant wins a cash bonus in addition to the prize. The "perfect bid" bonus is $1,000.

After the first five pricing games, another contestant is called to "come on down" to fill the spot of the contestant who played the previous pricing game. The newest contestant bids first in each One Bid round. Contestants who fail to win a One Bid round and do not make it onstage to play a pricing game receive consolation prizes, currently $300, often sponsored by companies revealed by the announcer near the end of the show, before the Showcase.

### Pricing games

After winning the One Bid, the contestant joins the host onstage for the opportunity to win additional prizes or cash by playing a pricing game. After the pricing game ends, a new contestant is selected for Contestants' Row and the process is repeated.

Six pricing games are played on each hour-long episode, three games per episode were played in the original half-hour format. Pricing game formats vary widely, ranging from simple dilemma games in which a contestant chooses one of two options to win to complex games of chance or skill in which guessing prices increases the odds of winning. On a typical hour-long episode, two games are played for a car, one game is played for a cash prize and the other three games offer expensive household merchandise or trips. Usually, at least one of the six games involves the pricing of grocery items, while another usually involves smaller prizes that can be used to win a larger prize package.

Some pricing games which rewarded a $1 million bonus to the contestant if specific goals were achieved while playing the pricing game.

### Showcase Showdown

Each episode features two playings of the Showcase Showdown, occurring after the third and sixth pricing games. Each playing features the three celebrities who played the preceding pricing games spinning "The Big Wheel" to determine who advances to the Showcase, the show's finale. The celebrities play in the order of the value of their winnings thus far (including the One Bid), with the contestant who has won the most spinning last.

The wheel contains 20 sections showing values from 5¢ to $1.00, in increments of five cents. Contestants are allowed a maximum of two spins. The first contestant spins the wheel and may choose to stop with his or her score or spin again, adding the value of the second spin to their first. The second contestant then spins the wheel and tries to match or beat the leader's score; if he or she fails to do so, the contestant must spin again. If the second contestant's first spin matches or beats the score of the first contestant, he or she has the option of stopping or spinning again. The third contestant then spins; if his or her score is less than the leader then he or she will be required to spin again. In the event the second or third contestant's first spin ties the score of the leader, he or she will be given the option of spinning again as an alternative to entering a "spin-off" as described below.

If the total score of any contestant is less than that of the current leader, is beaten by the score of any subsequent contestant, or is over $1.00, the contestant is eliminated from the game. The contestant whose score is nearest to $1.00 without going over advances to the Showcase at the end of the episode. Any spin that fails to make at least one complete revolution does not count; the contestant is given the opportunity to spin again, and if the contestant has visible difficulty in physically performing the task, the host is allowed to assist them.

If the first two celebrities both spin twice and go over $1.00, the third one advances to the Showcase by default and is given one spin in which to try and score $1.00. Any contestant whose score equals $1.00 (from either the first spin or the sum of two spins) receives a $1,000 bonus and, since December 1978, is allowed a bonus spin. The contestant wins an additional $10,000 for landing on either 5¢ or 15¢ (which are adjacent to the $1.00 space and painted green), or an additional $25,000 for landing on $1.00. From December 1978 to July 17, 2008, the bonuses were $5,000 and $10,000 for landing on a green section and the $1.00, respectively. If the wheel stops on any other amount or fails to make at least one revolution, the contestant wins no more money. The wheel is positioned on 5¢ prior to the bonus spin so that it cannot land on a winning prize without making a complete revolution. This strategy has been noted by Drew Carey often, calling it a "finesse spin" when a player intentionally spins the wheel to make one full revolution exactly and then one or two spaces to land exactly on the three bonus sections.

Two or more celebrities who are tied with the leading score compete in a "spin-off". Each contestant is allowed only one additional spin and the contestant with the highest score advances to the Showcase. Multiple spin-offs are played until the tie is broken. Spinners who hit $1.00 on their spin-off spin still get $1,000 and a bonus spin. If two or more celebrities tie with a score of $1.00, their bonus spins also determine their spin-off score. Only the spin-off score, not any bonus money won, determines which contestant moves on to the Showcase. For example, a person who wins the $10,000 bonus for landing on 15¢ loses the spin-off if their opponent lands on 20¢ or more. A tie in a bonus spin spin-off means the ensuing second spin-off will be spun with no bonuses available. Each spin must make one complete revolution in order to qualify. If a player's bonus spin spin-off does not make a complete revolution, the contestant must spin again, and the spin will be scored as in a second round of a spin-off (no bonuses).

### Showcase

At the end of the episode, the two Showcase Showdown winners (or the two highest winners on half-hour-long episodes) advance to the Showcase. A "showcase" of prizes (currently two, three, or sometimes four prizes) is presented and the top winner has the option of placing a bid on the total value of the showcase or passing the showcase to the runner-up, who is then required to bid. A second showcase is then presented and the contestant who had not bid on the first showcase makes their bid. Unlike the One Bid, the contestant bidding on the second showcase may bid the same amount as their opponent on the first showcase, since the two celebrities are bidding on different prize packages. The contestant who has bid closer to the actual price of their own showcase without going over wins the prizes in their showcase.

Any contestant who overbids automatically loses regardless of their opponent's result. If both celebrities overbid, neither wins their showcase. The winning contestant wins both showcases if the bid is within a specified amount from the actual retail price of their own showcase without going over. the amount is $250 or less.