Deal or No Deal Island season 2 featuring Survivor legend Parvati Shallow just premiered on NBC on Jan. 7. So far, three episodes have aired with new episodes dropping on NBC and Peacock every Tuesday night.
I will be completely honest. I didn't have much interest in Deal or No Deal Island, a version of Deal or No Deal that was a mixture of the original show and Survivor. Sure the premise was interesting and Howie Mandel was still involved in the project, but I still wasn't completely sold on the idea. I completely missed all of season 1 but heard nothing but great things about the reality show. The moment I heard that the Queen of the Black Widows, Parvati Shallow, would be a cast member in season two, I knew that there was no way I could miss it. However, season 2 of the spiritual sequel to "Deal or No Deal" doesn't just feature Parv as a contestant but also the Golden God of Australian Survivor, David Genat.
As a Survivor superfan, I sat down and watched the first three episodes of season 2 of Deal or No Deal Island to see if the new empire of reality television is worth the watch.
What is the premise of Deal or No Deal Island?
The gameplay of Deal or No Deal Island is the love child of the original Deal or No Deal show and Survivor challenges. All of the challenges revolve around collecting different cases of cash of different values where the contestant who receives the highest value case decides who faces the Banker later that night.
This is where the game returns to Howie Mandel's original vision where a singular player attempts to get the most cash possible through a normal game of Deal or No Deal. The catch of this game is that you have to make a "good deal" to stay in the game and have a chance to win the grand prize at the end of the game. If you receive a "bad deal," you immediately leave the island with no chance to win any money. If you make a "good deal," you get to choose who leaves the island out of any one of the cast besides the person or group who received immunity from the challenges. This goes on until the end of the game.
Parvati Shallow and David Genat are in control of the game
The only thing I knew coming into this first episode of this season was that Parv was going to be a contestant. I was pleasantly surprised by the rest of the cast in how much I liked (mostly) everyone. Parvati was (obviously) my favorite through these first three episodes, but I also loved David, Lete, and Maria-Grace. The cast has some high highs and some low lows.
In all three episodes, one of the contestants does something that is a brand-new level of stupidity. It makes for peak reality television and a big laugh for everyone who watches from home. You don't get a ton of background from the contestants which is the only thing I would want more from the cast. The best thing about the cast is the friendship between the two Survivor players and how they have been able to manipulate the rest of the cast.
The first two episodes had the cast kinda ease into the game with physical challenges and social situations involving the cast. The first twist of the game involved Big Brother legend Dr. Will entering the game and shaking things up at the end of episode two. He brings a ton of tension in the cast which spices things up to a perfect level. Even during the Banker portion, Dr. Will stirred the pot just to stir the pot. There are plenty of avenues for alliances to form and grow through the drama of this season.
The challenges were very interesting, but I am worried that they could become a bit drab. It's been more or less a game of hide and seek with different cases all with different values. The creativity of the challenges is nothing in comparison to the work of the Survivor crew. This show has plenty of room to grow in the competition aspect of the game. The normal Deal or No Deal game works very well as it puts a ton of pressure on one specific player per episode, and we have gotten entertaining endings in each episode so far. As the episodes continue, I'm sure the pressure will rise exponentially.
Is Deal or No Deal Island season 2 worth watching for Survivor fans?
Absolutely. I have had a blast following this wacky cast including two of Survivor legends who are sure to dominate the entire game. Each of the first three episodes offered three completely different meltdowns by three different contestants at a level I have rarely witnessed on Survivor. If you are missing Survivor during the break in between seasons, I couldn't recommend Deal or No Deal Island more.
Watch new episodes of Deal or No Deal Island season 2 every Tuesday on NBC and Peacock.