drew carey

Today's 'Price Is Right' (weekdays, syndicated on CBS) came down to two contestants who each had luck on their side -- until they didn't. Both Kayla and Michael won the big wheel spin by hitting the magic "one dollar." Michael did it twice, earning $25,000 for two spins of the wheel. Kayla had won the Cover Up game with an exact total.

Of course, Kayla and Michael faced off in the Showcase Showdown, where neither of them did particularly well. Kayla bid $8,000 on a package that was worth $28,178, putting her off by more than $20,000. All seemed hopeless. Then host Drew Carey came to Michael, who bid $32,332 on a diner booth, a juke box, a BMW motorcycle, and a trip to Wales.

Lucky for Kayla, Michael was more than $10,000 over the package, which was worth $21,845, so she gets to go to both Miami and Paris. Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good.

For more than a decade, Drew Carey has been connected to the world of televised improv in one form or another, whether it be hosting the U.S. version of the program 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?', on ABC from 1998 to 2004 or 'Drew Carey's Green Screen Show,' which aired on both the WB and Comedy Central in 2005 and 2006.

Now, after taking a few years off while hosting 'The Price Is Right' and losing nearly 100 pounds, Drew is back on the improv circuit with a new show for cable network GSN titled 'Drew Carey's Improv-a-Ganza.' Question is, what exactly is 'Improv-a-Ganza' all about?

Drew Carey is a man of his word. It was proven on 'Lopez Tonight' (Weeknights, 12AM ET on TBS) when George Lopez reminded him of a bet the two of them made the last time Carey was a guest. To give you an idea of the bet, it was before LeBron James had announced he was leaving Cleveland for Miami.

"I'll bet you $1,000 I think LeBron's staying in Cleveland," Carey said at the time. "And if he leaves, I'll let you come on 'The Price Is Right' and present a Showcase of your choice."

But that was then, and this is now. "Can I present a Showcase?" Lopez asked tonight.

A contestant literally jumps for joy when he wins a $1,000 bonus prize and earns a shot at a showcase on 'The Price is Right' (weekdays, syndicated).

"It's crazy how much excitement you can get from just spinning a wheel, isn't it?" asks host Drew Carey as the man takes his second spin.

Possibly hoping for a spot on 'The Soup,' a 'Price is Right' contestant gives a random shout-out to Joel McHale. Unfortunately, this seems to earn only a tepid response from host Drew Carey.

Jorge Garcia returns to TV tonight for his guest spot on 'How I Met Your Mother''s 'Blitzgiving' episode, but if all goes according to plan, he'll be back on a regular basis in the fall.

According to a report from Deadline Hollywood, Garcia has been cast as the first series regular in J.J. Abrams' new Alcatraz series. Garcia will team up with his former 'Lost' producer as Dr. Diego Soto, an Alcatraz expert brought in to help the FBI investigate the reappearance of a "group of missing Alcatraz prisoners and guards who reappear in the present day."

Much like 'Lost,' Garcia is the first person cast on the new show.

In other casting news ...

• Former 'Roswell' actress Majandra Delfino will star in the new ABC Family pilot 'The State of Georgia.' She'll play the science nerd best friend of "curvy performer" Raven Symone. [Deadline]

• Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis is dropping by 'Law & Order: SVU' for a guest spot as a lawyer. The episode will air Jan. 5, and also features Drea de Matteo and Shohreh Aghdashloo. [TV Guide]

On a special Halloween episode of 'The Price is Right' (weekdays, syndicated), the crew dresses up as characters from the classic movie 'The Wizard of Oz.'

'Price is Right' host Drew Carey opens up on the secret to his dramatic weight loss of almost 80 pounds, and explains the benefits of reducing from his previous weight of 262 pounds on 'The Early Show' (weekdays, 7AM ET on CBS).

Drew Carey looks really different these days. Carey once topped the scales at 262 lbs, and worried that he could no longer find pants that would fit him. Those days are gone, now that the shrinking comedian has dropped more than 80 pounds.

On 'The Late Late Show' (weeknights, 12:37AM ET), Craig Ferguson cracked some jokes about his newly thin friend. But he also recalled a near-death moment that put Drew in the hospital. Ferguson was joined by actor Diedrich Bader: the two men appeared together on 'The Drew Carey Show.'

Bader reminded Craig of an incident from nine years ago. After rehearsing a dance number for the show, Diedrich went to Carey's dressing room. But when he knocked, he heard a loud noise -- a noise that went like this: "UnnnUNNNHH!" Ferguson recalled this too -- he laughed, remembering how he thought that the sound came from Carey messing around with a female extra.

['Community' - 'Accounting for Lawyers']

When you go to college, you get to leave your past behind. It's a new place, with new faces, and no one to remember all the indignities and insults of grade school. At college, you can decide who you are, and no one can contradict you. But what happens if your past shows up on campus, and you find you're happy to meet it?

Jeff Winger isn't some teenager just off the bus from high school. He was once a successful lawyer at a prestigious (or at least profitable) law firm. So when he bumped into an old colleague at Greendale, he had to remember who he used to be, and decide if the old days are worth revisiting.

Maybe it was the excitement about host Drew Carey's dramatic weight loss that had this contestant light on her feet. More likely, this contestant on 'The Price Is Right' (Weekdays, syndicated on CBS) was beside herself over the chance to walk away with a brand new car. It's one of the show's most popular prizes.

But why stop there. Carey motioned Gwenda over toward him. "Have a seat," he said. "You're gonna want to stay down." At this, she discovered that she wasn't competing for just one car, but one by one, three new cars were revealed. By the end of the reveals, she could barely talk, much less compete.

'The Price Is Right' (weekdays, syndicated on CBS) is back for a new season, and it comes complete with a very thin Drew Carey after his weight loss.

"You look great, you look great. Oh my god," the contestant told a much-slimmer Carey on today's premiere. "Thank you very much, you too," Carey responded.

Carey revealed his new look, along with a new game and the biggest prize ever -- $100,000 -- on the premiere of Season 39. The game, "Pay the Rent," also featured the biggest set for a game that's ever been constructed for 'Price Is Right.'

So, did the contestant take home big money or blow her chance at $100,000? Watch and find out.

'The Price is Right' started its 39th year this morning, and to celebrate the first episode of the season they debuted a new game called Pay The Rent. In this game, contestants have to OH MY GOD DREW CAREY HAS LOST A TON OF WEIGHT!!

A lot of fans already knew that Drew had lost several pounds off his frame, but it's a whole different thing to see it in the 'Price is Right' setting. My first reaction when Drew came out from behind the door at the start of the show was "wow, he looks...odd." That's not a dig at Drew -- he looks great -- but it's just the shock of seeing someone who's looked a certain way for 20 years appear a lot thinner. Took me a moment to get my mind wrapped around it.

Don't believe the spin: Longtime 'The Price Is Right' host Bob Barker said comments he made to a TMZ.com paparazzo on Monday were not meant to disparage the performance of current 'TPIR' host Drew Carey.

Barker's proof: Dissing Drew would mean putting a dent in his own future earnings.

As Gary told you the other day, Rich Fields has been let go from his position as the announcer on 'The Price is Right.' This is too bad. Fields has done a fine job since taking over the role in 2004, having a good rapport with both Bob Barker and now Drew Carey.

There's a lot of talk about what they're going to do. Fields himself said in a statement on his site that they're going to be auditioning stand-up comics. Alex at BuzzerBlog says that besides former 'Shop 'Til You Drop' host J.D. Roberto announcing an episode this week (the show has started taping new episodes for the fall this week), comics Jeff Davis and Brad Sherwood will try out too.