Deal or No Deal Island episode 12 (finale): The Boston Rob effect

Deal Or No Deal Island season 1
Photo: NBC

As you get prepared for the Deal or No Deal Island finale on NBC next week, it feels clear that the show is in a pretty interesting spot.

Why? Well, let’s just say that it has a ton to do with Boston Rob Mariano, the star of the season — at least other than Aron, who was already eliminated. The Survivor legend’s casting got a lot of people on board the revamped version of the classic game show, which has managed steady ratings and is casting a second season right now. Of course, it’s also created an interesting quagmire — did the show do enough to convince everyone to watch a season 2 without him?

It is clear entering the Deal or No Deal Island finale that Rob is the most popular player by far. However, there’s also a good chance that he gets eliminated in the opening minutes. He has no one to blame but himself for the rule breach, but regardless it was a smart move to end episode 11 with a cliffhanger. Even if he gets taken out at the start of the episode, NBC gets views from his fans for at least the early going.

Given that Rob’s casting was such a win for producers, are they going to try and get another iconic reality star in season 2? Don’t be shocked if that happens, but we wonder if it would be from a different show this time around. The fascinating thing about casting in general for a show like this is that there is legitimate competition from The Traitors and House of Villains when it comes to getting familiar faces. How much should you even rely on them?

The other three remaining contestants of Deal or No Deal Island are Jordan, Stephanie, and Amy — are all of them memorable? Stephanie is, but we wonder if they’d all be presented differently if Rob was not around. That is the risk the show has if they cast more TV veterans in season 2: The newbies could pale in comparison, especially if they are in opposition to the fan favorite.

Do you think that Boston Rob could still win Deal or No Deal Island finale?

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