‘The Price Is Right’ Fans Agree This ‘Drives Them Crazy’ About Show

‘The Price Is Right’ Fans Agree This ‘Drives Them Crazy’ About Show

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The Price Is Right fans have been debating a part of the show that “drives them crazy,” and that’s contestants looking to the studio audience for guidance.

A Price Is Right Reddit user recently brought up the topic, writing, “Do these contestants need an audience in real life? It drives me crazy how much the people on stage can’t do anything without the audience telling them what to do.”

Often, when host Drew Carey asks for a contestant to give an answer, especially in a pricing game, they’ll look over to the audience for advice on what number to select. However, some viewers believe certain contestants rely way-too-much on the audience.

“The audience would boo me because I’d ignore them,” the Reddit user continued. “The one last today is looking at the audience to tell her where to place a Plinko chip. The lady in the showcase was ridiculous with her slllooooowwwww number at a time bid while staring at the audience the whole time.”

Others agreed, with one fan writing, “I thought my wife and I were the only ones that were constantly annoyed by the contestants. Glad I’m not alone. And there’s certainly contestants that I will root for and be bummed out if they lose. But it’s extremely rare these days.”

“The slow bid lady also was staring into the crowd during time is money as thousands of dollars roll by,” added another.

One user, who previously appeared on the show, said, “I fake listened to them when I was on. I just was having fun with the moment. I pretended to care.”

However, others pointed out how looking at the audience is simply part of the show. “I think a good portion of the contestants just look to the audience for the camera,” wrote one user. “We saw during the pandemic season that the contestants didn’t really need the audience’s help.”

“I’ve been on the show. They encourage contestants to look to the audience, and they highly pump up the audience to shout out their guesses, etc,” added another.

“Part of the charm of TPIR is the contestants looking wide-eyed into the screaming audience and basing decisions worth tens of thousands of dollars on who they happen to make eye contact with. It’s frantic, loony, and a ton of fun,” one commenter stated.

Another added, “The nice thing is if you go with the audience answer and it’s wrong, then you have the audience to blame, not yourself.”

One commenter suggested, “I think they’re careful to select contestants who aren’t too familiar with/the show…a lot of contestants seem clueless like they’ve never seen the show before. Don’t want too many ringers I guess.”

Another agreed, writing, “I believe some contestants come via a talent agency/extras service. You see the same on shows like Survivor. Not everyone applies. Some are wannabe models/actors who are recruited to be on the show.”

With that, someone referenced Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul appearing on the show on January 3, 2000, before he found fame as an actor, and looking like he was playing the role of a hyped up TPIR contestant.

It’s also not unusual for contestants to be under the influence. In an interview with TV Insider last year, Carey admitted that sometimes contestants will have “a [marijuana] gummy or I’ll smell alcohol on their breath. Not unusual. There was a guy here that was tripping on mushrooms. He came with a bunch of friends.”

What do you think about contestants looking to the audience for guidance? Does it happen too often? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

The Price Is Right, Weekdays, 11a/10c, CBS