Deal or No Deal Australia is the Best Deal or No Deal

Deal or No Deal has been reappearing over the globe in very different ways. The core component over most reboots, though, has been “how can we do this show on a more financially responsible budget?” Whether that’s moving the show to an island and turning it into Survivor or significantly reducing the prize, it’s been a challenge all countries have had to face.

The main versions we’ve been watching over the past year are the American Deal or No Deal Island, the Australian reboot of Deal, and the British reboot of Deal. We’re not going to cover much of Deal Island because there’s nothing much to say about it beyond the weakest part of Deal or No Deal Island is Deal or No Deal and it’s a problem if four of the five words of your show’s title are the worst part.

It was hard for me to be more excited about the British reboot. Channel 4’s Deal or No Deal, running from 2005 to 2016, is up there with the greatest game shows of all time anywhere. While the new version, currently airing on ITV, has a lot going for it, it suffers in the inevitable comparison. Between a longer runtime with less gameplay, the significantly reduced prize (£250,000 down to £100,000) while still keeping the drama at an all time high, the nonsensical bank offers, and the money chain which has no real in-between amounts, it can often be tough to get through without hitting the fast forward button.

It was an extremely pleasant surprise when Deal or No Deal’s YouTube and streaming channel began showing the Australian reboot, airing daily on 10. If you haven’t checked it out yet be sure to because it’s a good blueprint for how to do a cheaper version of Deal in modern times. Sure, the prize is reduced from the original version’s $200,000 to $100,000, but the lighter and more fun tone of the show keeps it from feeling too dour. A good amount of this is credited to host Grant Denyer. The 30 minute runtime helps significantly also, pushing the show along and not creating the situation, which the British version has run into several times now, where we spend the last half playing for a few grand at most (if not hundreds of dollars/pounds). This modern version improves from the original Australian version (running 2003 to 2013) in nearly every way.

If you haven’t looked in a bit, Deal or No Deal US has been uploading the short-lived syndicated run daily to their YouTube channel also. It’s a fantastic version that didn’t get the attention it deserved at the time.