deal or no deal goes big for series return

USA |NBC

NBC's hit game show "Deal or No Deal," starring Howie Mandel, will return to the Fall schedule with an exhilarating premiere week featuring four nights of fun and big prize money, giving away over $20 million to lucky contestants -- with another $1 million live over the course of the week to viewers at home with the interactive "Play at Home Lucky Case Game." The series will kick off with a special two-hour premiere on Monday, September 18 (8-10 p.m. ET) and will air on Tuesday, September 19 (8-9 p.m. ET), Thursday, September 21 (9-10 p.m. ET) and Friday, September 22 (8-9 p.m. ET).

Beginning on Monday, the top prize in the first game will be $1 million and will escalate by an additional $1 million as each game progresses throughout the week, culminating with a record $6 million -- the highest ever top prize offered on the show. The total prize money up for grabs during premiere week comes to a staggering $22 million.

In addition, lucky viewers at home will have a chance to win big money with the "Play at Home Lucky Case Game," a live interactive game where viewers can text on their cell phones or by logging onto the "Deal or No Deal" website at www.nbc.com/DOND. An unprecedented total of $1 million will be given away on the four telecasts during premiere week.

At various points in the show, viewers will be alerted on how to play the "Play at Home Lucky Case Game" and all of the viewers who correctly selected the lucky case will be pooled together with the winner chosen at random. The "Lucky Case" will be revealed and the winner will be announced live at the end of the each show.

Following the premiere week, "Deal or No Deal" will air Mondays (8-9 p.m. ET) and Thursdays (9-10 p.m. ET) on a weekly basis in its regular time periods beginning Monday, September 25.

Hosted by Howie Mandel, "Deal or No Deal" is an international hit game show from Endemol USA. Contestants on the show play for a top prize of $1 million in a high-energy match of nerves, instincts and raw intuition. Each night, the game of odds and chance unfolds when a contestant faces 26 sealed briefcases containing anything from a measly penny to $1 million. Without knowing the amount in each briefcase, the contestant picks one -- his to keep, if he chooses, until its unsealing at game's end. The game kicks into high gear when the amount of cash in each case is revealed to the contestant round-by-round - and is tempted after each round by a mysterious entity known only as "the Banker" to accept an offer of cash in exchange for what might be contained in the contestant's chosen briefcase -- prompting Mandel to ask the all-important question -- "Deal or No Deal"?