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TV Talk: Joe Manganiello previews ‘unbelievable’ season of ‘Deal or No Deal Island’

Rob Owen
| Tuesday, January 7, 2025 6:00 a.m.
Monty Brinton/NBC
Joe Manganiello returns as host for season two of “Deal or No Deal Island.”

For his second season as host of NBC’s “Deal or No Deal Island” (8 tonight, WPXI), Mt. Lebanon native Joe Manganiello said the reality competition delivers in a way that’s can’t-miss TV.

“You’re going to see something you’ve never seen before,” he said in a phone interview Christmas Eve afternoon. “Yeah, I’m trying to sell my show, obviously, but this was one of the most unbelievable moments of my life that I’ve ever witnessed, and I was there at Super Bowl XLIII when the Steelers won.”

Filmed in July and August in a secret location (an island off the coast of Panama), the new season will reveal a new Banker — last year’s Banker was original “Deal or No Deal” host Howie Mandel.

This season, “Deal or No Deal Island” welcomes “Survivor” victor Parvati Shallow in its first episode alongside another “Survivor” veteran, albeit one who’s unlikely to be familiar to American viewers. Deeper into the series, Dr. Will Kirby, a winning “Big Brother” veteran, joins the cast.

“We’ve got three champions this year, and it’s fantastic because there are targets of different shapes and sizes,” Manganiello said. “There are secrets to be kept because some people recognize these people, some people don’t, which creates different dynamics within teaming up — both with them and then opportunities to team up against them.”

Manganiello said after the show’s first season, he and the show’s producers explored what worked well and what could make the game better.

“I told the players this on day one, ‘How many of you watched all of season one?’ and everyone raised their hand,” Manganiello recalled. “I said, ‘Great, now completely throw that out, because any tactic that you think was going to work for you having watched season one, that’s what’s going to get you thrown out on day one of this season.’ Just when you think you have the answer, in season two we changed the question. We really wanted to keep all of the players on their heels.”

If season two offers new twists for “Deal or No Deal Island” contestants, it’s a more comfortable fit for Manganiello.

“During the first season, I was figuring out what kind of a host I was going to be, what you would probably consider your style as host,” Manganiello said.

He said while acting as a host is as close to being himself as any role he could have, there’s still a performance aspect that informs how a reality competition host interacts with a show’s contestants.

“I’m going to get as excited as anyone is inside of the game,” Manganiello said. “In season one when Rob (Mariano) hit the bullseye in the hunter-gatherer challenge, Rob puts his hands up, and I’m high-fiving him. … I’m on the roller coaster. They tune in and watch me not stand on the side of the coaster, I’m in the car on the roller coaster, riding it with the players. My hands are up on all the big drops, and I’m narrating this thing from inside of the car.”

“Boston Rob” Mariano will host a “Deal or No Deal Island” aftershow streaming weekly Wednesdays on Peacock, NBC’s YouTube channel and at NBC.com.

In addition to hosting a new season of “Deal or No Deal Island,” which moves to 9 p.m. Tuesday on Jan. 14, Manganiello filmed a role in season two of Netflix’s live-action “One Piece” series as Mr. O (aka the Crocodile). Season two has no premiere date, and it sounds like Manganiello would play a larger role in season three once the show gets renewed for a third season.

“I’ve shot the introduction to my character in South Africa, and I am back from that trip,” he said. “But as fans of the show know, the character that I play is a very important, very notorious character in ‘One Piece’ lore.”

Manganiello said his film “Nonnas,” directed by Upper St. Clair High School grad Stephen Chbosky, will stream this summer on Netflix. Based on the true story of a Staten Island restaurant where “grandmas cook your food for you,” “Nonnas” recounts the restaurant’s creation by its owner (Vince Vaughn) and his best friend (Manganiello). Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire and Brenda Vaccaro also star.

“We have this great, great, great, great, great comedy with tons of heart,” Manganiello said. “If you know Stephen Chbosky’s work, you know it’s got so much heart. And it’s his wife who actually wrote the screenplay. Directing this is kind of his love letter to her.”

Steelers on WPXI

Saturday’s Steelers playoff game against the Ravens in Baltimore (8 p.m.) will stream on Amazon’s Prime Video nationally, but it will also air locally on WPXI, Channel 11.

Fubo ends Venu lawsuit

If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em: To end Fubo TV’s lawsuit over the proposed Disney-Fox-Warner Bros. joint sports streaming service Venu, the Venu companies will pay Fubo $220 million to merge Disney’s Hulu with Live TV with competitor Fubo.

If the deal is approved, it will clear the way for the launch of Venu. Fubo and Hulu with Live TV will continue to operate as independent brands (Hulu with Live TV will continue to be available as part of the Disney bundle) but Disney will control 70% of Fubo and appoint a majority of the Fubo board.

The deal will allow the combined company to more aggressively compete against virtual multichannel video provider (vMVPD) YouTube TV, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Kept/canceled

Hulu renewed “Letter­kenny” spin-off “Shoresy” for a fifth season with season four debuting Feb. 26.

Peacock canceled stop- motion animated comedy “In the Know” after a single season; HBO did the same for “The Franchise.”

Channel surfing

Meghan Markle’s lifestyle series, “With Love, Meghan,” streams on Netflix Jan. 15. … Animated theatrical hit “The Wild Robot” streams on Peacock Jan. 24. … CNN panel comedy show “Have I Got News for You” returns for its second season at 9 p.m. Feb. 15. … Following a six-year absence, Heidi Klum will return as host of “Project Runway” for the show’s 21st season that relocates to Freeform, Disney+ and Hulu. The show is expected to air this year.


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