Howie Mandel says Canadian ‘Price is Right’ spinoff will be ‘tariff-free’ and timely

Television host and comedian Howie Mandel is seen in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - CityTV (Mandatory Credit)

Howie Mandel is coming home to host a Canadian spinoff of “The Price is Right,” and unlike softwood lumber or steel, he quips, his services come with no duties attached.

“I’m hosting tariff-free,” the Toronto-born comedian chuckles.

Dubbed “The Price is Right Tonight,” the prime time reimagining of the U.S. game show begins production this December in Toronto and will debut on Citytv next spring. Rogers opened a contestant call this month, inviting Canadians to apply for a chance to “come on down.”

Of course, a game built on guessing the cost of groceries, appliances and cars may hit differently in 2025, when Canadians are grappling with inflation, a cost-of-living crisis and global unrest.

Mandel says he’s aware of that.

“Everything is more expensive, and I want to point that out in the moment. When somebody comes on down and they come on up on the stage, I want to know about them. I want to know what their needs are. I want to know what their struggle is right now,” he explains on a call from Los Angeles.

“The Price is Right” is a long-running daytime TV staple, famously hosted by Bob Barker and now Drew Carey. Mandel says the new evening format will be “glitzier,” with more time to highlight contestants’ stories.

“I want to know, if they guess the price or if the wheel lands in the right place, how does this change your life? When you know what it means to somebody, you root more.”

Beyond offering Canadians a chance to win flashy prizes, Mandel hopes the show provides “pure escapism” in a world weighed down by conflict and rising costs.

“I think at this time, a show like this, and the way we’re going to do it, it’s needed more than it has ever been needed. Not only is the price right tonight, the time is right tonight.”

He can’t confirm whether all items highlighted will be Canadian-made — “I’m not the person that comes up with the prizes,” he says — but he insists the production is Canadian content through and through, even if it’s based on a U.S. franchise.

“I’m a Canadian in Canada doing a show with a Canadian production company on a Canadian network with Canadian contestants,” he says proudly.

Still, he’s quick to downplay any rivalry with his adopted home south of the border, despite ongoing trade tensions.

“Listen, it’s not Canada vs. the U.S. — it’s everybody. There seems to be some tension and divisiveness all over the world now, and I think social media plays into that and hypes people up and gets people angry,” he says.

“What I love to do and what I’m really excited to do is to play a game in Canada with my people, where you don’t have to think about that, where you can escape for an hour and just have fun.”

Mandel is a fixture in the TV competition realm, serving as a judge on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” and its northern spinoff, Citytv’s “Canada’s Got Talent.” He first stepped into game-show hosting in 2005 with NBC’s “Deal or No Deal,” though he initially turned the job down. By then, he’d established himself as a comedian and actor in the ’80s and ’90s, with roles in the “Gremlins” franchise and his own Fox cartoon “Bobby’s World” — but he says he’d reached a professional lull.

“My career wasn’t going great in 2005, and being offered a game show seemed like the lowest rung of the totem pole of show business — the nail in the coffin of my career,” Mandel says.

“I said no to it, but my wife made me take it. It’s been the biggest success and the biggest joy of my career to date, ‘Deal or No Deal.’ I loved it, just standing there and witnessing people winning money, changing their lives, having a joyful hour. It’s something that I’ve been trying to replicate ever since.”

Mandel says he’ll get that chance with “The Price is Right Tonight,” promising to do the show “in a bigger, better way than it’s ever been done.”

Rogers acquired the “Price Is Right” licence from Fremantle, the British company that also licenses “Canada’s Got Talent” and a slate of popular game shows.

A Citytv spokesperson said Rogers has paused production of “Canada’s Got Talent” and the show is on hiatus.

Mandel says he hopes the show returns.

“I want it to come back... Canada does have talent, and I would love the opportunity to continue to showcase it,” he says.

“Whenever I can come back to Canada and do what I do, there’s a self-serving joy that I experience doing that.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2025.

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press