Even Drew Carey Couldn’t Believe This Shocking Price Twist on ‘The Price Is Right’

Drew Carey has seen thousands of prizes come and go on The Price Is Right — but even he was stunned by one surprisingly low price tag during a recent episode. After 18 years on the job, it takes a lot to shake his confidence, which made his genuine shock on the June 12 show all the more memorable. “Unbelievable!” he exclaimed, floored by the unexpected number — and viewers were just as surprised.

Drew Carey is Thrown a Curveball by a Range on ‘The Price Is Right’

Contestant Mary Carrion got her chance to be on stage with Carey after bidding $1,701 on a $2,129 665-inch 4K QLED smart television with a streaming media player on Contestants Row, $1 above the next highest bidder. Carrion ran to the stage, hugged Carey and said “Cleveland rocks!” The host assumed that meant Carrion was from Cleveland (she’s from Chicago), missing her reference to the theme song by The Presidents of the United States of America (great, great band, by the way) to his own The Drew Carey Show.

Carey revealed that the game she would be playing was Most Expensive, and if 3 Strikes is the hardest game to play, Most Expensive is the complete opposite. The contestant is shown three prizes, and all they have to do is pick which one is the most expensive. That’s it. Get it right, they win all three. Get it wrong, cue the loser horn. The three prizes were a set of designer handbags, a stainless steel gas range, and an Arkrocket LED jukebox. Out of the three, Carrion decided that the designer handbags were the most expensive.

Carey had the price of the jukebox revealed first, coming in at $1,880, then the range, valued at $849. The designer bags were indeed the most expensive at $3,308. That’s a staggering amount, but not the one that shocked Carey. Upon seeing that the range was $849, Carey exclaimed, “What? They sell ranges for $849? Unbelievable.” That it would be the appliance that threw Carey a curveball, the most normal prize one could possibly win on The Price Is Right, is a little comical. Nevertheless, that $849 range contributed to Carrion’s overall haul worth $8,166 to that point. That would be it, though, after losing out on the Showcase.

Drew Carey Uses “Most Expensive” to Praise George Gray and the Models on ‘The Price Is Right’

But before the shock of learning that Carey had no concept of appliance pricing, he took the opportunity to extol the praises of announcer George Gray and The Price Is Right models. Before Gray revealed the price of the jukebox, Carey turned his attention to Gray and said, “George, I love you. I appreciate you, man. You’re the glue that holds the show together.”

Carey wasn’t done doling out the plaudits there. Before model Alexis Gaube showed the price of the range, the one that somehow managed to stun Carey, he said to her, and to the show’s host of models in turn, and said, “Alexis, also the most important part of the show. Thank you! What would the show be without the models? I’m telling you nothing!”

In fairness, Carey deserves plaudits himself for a 15-year-and-counting hosting gig that has revitalized The Price Is Right. But not for knowing the prices of appliances on his own show. That’s just embarrassing.

The Price Is Right airs weekdays on CBS.