DEAL OR NO DEAL ISLAND - SEASON 2
CAST WRANGLER
In July of 2023, I received an unexpected call, inviting me to fly to the Panama rainforest in 2 weeks time to be a Cast Wrangler for Season 2 of Deal or No Deal Island. Having no previous experience in TV - the opportunity was certainly daunting. Thankfully, I had enough confidence in my management skills to take a plunge into something completely new.
I spent 4 weeks on the island of Isla Colon, filming 13 episodes of the show. To my knowledge, I was the youngest person on set by about 5 years. There were 13 cast members - from incredibly established Reality TV stars (Parvati Shallow of Survivor and Traitors; Dr. Will Kirby of Big Brother; David Genat of Australian Survivor) to regular people like us, who decided to drop their lives for 4 weeks to be on reality TV.
My job as Cast Wrangler was to keep all contestants as comfortable as possible, while still maintaining the integrity of the production. Prior to filming; I took meal orders, and ensured that all cast members were comfortable and fed in their hotel rooms. When filming began, the my job would change on a day to day basis. One day, I may be on set; arriving to film the challenge, Deal or No Deal that night, and staying until all cast members went to bed. I would be on headset to ensure that as cast members were being interviewed, other cast members would not be near enough to hear what they were saying. I would also keep time, giving reminders to cast members on set about when they needed to be ready for x y or z. When not filming, it was our responsibility to ensure that contestants were not talking about the game, whether that be in the van on the way to Deal or No Deal, or keeping watch as they ate their dinner off camera. I would ensure they all had enough food and snacks, the drinks remained stocked as requested, and ensured they were consistently applying sunscreen and bug spray (we were in the jungle, after all!) On other days, I would stay back at the cast hotel and assist/entertain eliminated contestants; taking them on excursions around Bocas Del Toro.
It is certainly a daunting task to wrangle 13 large personalities; all of whom are significantly older than you. That being said, the reason I believe I was successful in this position was that positivity and genuine care for the cast remained my priority at all times. Contrary to popular belief- these contestants are in very real, very high stakes situations. Their every move is being filmed to be watched on television by millions. And on top of that, one mistake could cost them millions upon millions of dollars. It was essential to remember their humanity- treating them with consistent respect and kindness went a long way in this environment.
Deal or No Deal Island Season 2 premieres January 7th on NBC and Peacock. I highly recommend the watch - this season is EXTREMELY good. I feel proud to have played a part in it.
