Ben and Kamari Tease What’s To Come in ‘Deal or No Deal Island’

Summary

• Deal or No Deal Island features new briefcase models, Ben and Kamari, who add flair to the show.
• Ben and Kamari reveal the behind-the-scenes drama and the truth on whether or not they know what’s inside those cases.
• Ben and Kamari praise host Joe Manganiello, discuss their island fashion tips, and talk about whether they’d make it to the end of the game if they were contestants.

Deal or No Deal was the hit game show that watched players try to beat the banker in hopes of winning a large sum of money. The show helped launch the careers of many briefcase models over the years, including Meghan Markle, Chrissy Teigen, and Claudia Jordan. Now, the show has launched a spin-off, currently in its second season, where two briefcase models hope to follow in the footsteps of their famous predecessors.

Kamari Love and Ben Crofchick have taken on the mantel of opening cases alongside host Joe Manganiello. Their presence has helped make the action-adventure strategy game even more fabulous. They may be on hand to serve iced tea to the contestants following their excursions, but Love and Crofchick are here to spill the pipping hot tea about life on Deal or No Deal Island.

Ben and Kamari Talk About What It Means To Be a Part of ‘DONDI’

“We haven’t even gotten into the chaos yet. It just started.”

This show is so much fun. We are here in Season 2. What has it been like seeing the show take off as it has?

KAMARI: Oh, it’s been so fun.

BEN: I just think, for it to be a brand-new show and just to see the support that’s kind of come. The fan base grew so quickly. It’s just exciting. It’s kind of like me and Kamari’s like baby now. Because it’s something we got to watch from the humble beginnings of it. So for Season 1 to be as successful as it was, and to see Season 2, and I think it’s just going to top the numbers that Sesaon 1 had, it’s so exciting. We’re always looking forward to seeing the new episode come out and watch everyone’s reaction.

KAMARI: Definitely. And the contrast between Season 1 and Season 2, the jump is so large. That’s been the most fun thing to kind of watch unfold. And it’s just getting started. We haven’t even gotten into the chaos yet. It just started.

Oh, I can’t wait. What has it meant to both of you to be a part of this incredible show?

KAMARI: Oh my gosh, it’s really meant the world. Because truthfully, it’s such a long franchise show, so there’s so much respect behind it. And I feel like there’s a lot of past briefcase models who launch their careers from it, you know. And so it’s been a joy for Ben and I to be able to kind of take on this new role in a new setting, and humbly accepting the only two. So, that has been a very amazing experience, and we’re super grateful to be a part of it.

BEN: Yeah, there’s, there’s something cool about being a part of something new because, obviously the ties of it having the legendary status of Deal or No Deal. But then being able to be the first two people to come on an island and do it. We’re splitting the cases down the middle. So there’s a little special twist to it. It’s a new show, and we get to kind of be the face of that new genre of case opening and Banker’s Assistant.

KAMARI: Yeah. And Ben’s the first guy, so breaking records!

BEN: I am the first guy.

Congratulations!

BEN: That is something.

The Banker’s Assistants Spill the Secrets of Case-Opening

“You almost black out in the moments that you walk up to the cases.”

What is the most surprising thing about filming the show that fans don’t quite get to experience when they watch at home?

KAMARI: I think there’s just so much in between that is, unfortunately not able to be shown just because there’s so much content. I think the most surprising thing is like they’re going to see the highlights on TV, yes, but the amount of things that’s going on, like breaking alliances and the manipulation and things that have to go on in order to make a good show. They really wouldn’t understand what’s actually happening in between.

BEN: Also, I feel like a big thing that no one realizes, even my family asked me, is they’re under the impression that me and Kamari know what’s in the cases. A lot of them think, “Well, you must, you know what’s in case eight, right?” We don’t know at all. So that something I think America, and just whoever’s watching, just assumes that even random people know what’s in the cases. And it’s truly a shock to everyone. It’s that’s something that I think America doesn’t know, but it makes it that much sweeter that it is fully a mystery to all of us.

KAMARI: Right? And they come for us like we know. I’m like, no, no!

BEN: Yeah. They think we know the cases. I think even the contestants think we know that sometimes.

Talk to me about working with the incomparable Joe Manganiello.

KAMARI: He’s awesome.

BEN: He’s amazing. Yeah. To be at the the level of he that he is with so many things, and for how humble he is. He’s such a good guy. There’s a saying that you treat the CEO the same as the janitor. And I feel like Joe is a very good description of that. He’s just a really all-around great guy.

KAMARI: Yeah.

BEN: And it’s his first time hosting, and he does it like he’s been doing it for 20 years.

KAMARI: You cannot tell.

BEN: They couldn’t have picked a better person to just come on and throw a show together. Hosting for the first time.

KAMARI: Truthfully. And super down to earth. Very humble. Super helpful. I just feel like I respect him so much because, like Ben said, this being his first time hosting, you absolutely could not tell. And even the way that he was receiving lines and speaking them, I learned a lot from him on set, just being an actor. It was admirable just to watch someone on such a high caliber who’s so humble, and you’re able to learn a lot from them. Great experience working with Joe.

You both always look fabulous during the Banker’s Challenge. What is the best way to serve Island fashion?

KAMARI: Best way to serve on island fashion? I mean, probably a little bit of dewy skin from all the humidity there always helps. A little glow, I guess. I don’t know.

BEN: No ascots. I’ll tell you what kills.

KAMARI: Island ruffles.

BEN: Yeah, no ruffles and ascots.

KAMARI: A little island dew, and you’re good to go. Bright colors. We have a lot of bright colors.

Now, you mentioned you don’t know what’s in the case, but the artistry behind opening a case. You both are masters at it. What is the secret to opening a case?

KAMARI: I don’t know, it’s that flow.

BEN: I think, honestly, I think it’s something that you kind of just end up doing subconsciously, without thinking. You almost black out in the moments that you walk up to the cases. If you think too much on it, or you try to pre meditate the action, it becomes also fake on camera. So I think from day one, me and Kamari literally just felt however it feels, and we’ve kind of just chased that. It’s never been overthought. We just kind of go to the case, open it, and react.

KAMARI: Yeah. It’s funny, though, because Ben and I started to learn each other and how we move. I’ll walk over…

BEN: She does her little hand touch.

KAMARI: Drag the case. And then he was like, “Nope, I can tell when you do this it’s going to be this.”‘ And I’m like, “Dang, I didn’t know I was giving it away.” But we just know between the two of us. So it’s a fun little game.

Ben and Kamari Talk About How They Would Fair If They Played

Let’s talk about this last elimination. Sydnee was a bit of a firecracker. What was your reaction at the moment when she stopped the game to address the players to apologize?

BEN: I think from seeing I had, how many messages of people just being like, “Oh my gosh, Sydnee, she’s chaotic. She’s crazy.” So I feel like a lot of people kind of gravitated toward how she played in the beginning and how sporadic it was and random. So I think her getting up and just trying to speak to the whole cast, it didn’t really do much for her. I think it was kind of like she already sealed her fate with how she played the game the last two days. So, I don’t know if it was really the move for her, honestly. The whole studio kind of froze there for a moment when she got up. Like, “What do you have to say?”

KAMARI: Yeah, I think it lowkey sealed her ticket because it was just doing too much. And at that point, girl, you’ve already shown us who you are, and we can’t trust you. It was kind of just done at that point. But nice of her to try.

BEN: I mean, admirable.

KAMARI: Part of the game. It’s part of the game. You know,

Do you think players like Parvati, Boston Rob, The Golden God, Dr. Will have an advantage stepping foot on the Bankers Private Island, having played a competition show before?

KAMARI: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think they all came in, obviously, with a goal to transcend the last things that they did. And it was just crazy the strategy and stuff that they came in with. It is just different. Absolutely different. Even Rob last year. I specifically remember. Ben, do you remember the swing challenge and how he went? And how he went, he was the only person that just swung. He didn’t throw anything the very first time. And you could tell he’s like, “Oh, he’s thinking momentum. He’s thinking he’s getting strategic.” Nobody else would have thought about that. And then, boom, on his second throw, he got it perfect. So, it’s stuff like that where you can tell who’s done this before, specifically in a competition reality show, and who’s never done it before. It’s just a clear difference.

BEN: There is something beautiful about that as well. With the show is no matter how veteran you are of a reality television show, when you get to the temple and you play Deal or No Deal, it doesn’t matter if you’ve played a million game shows. There’s odds to that. There’s random. There’s luck. You could be Joe Schmo off the street and do a better job than probably anybody else that’s played the game five times. There is a luck to it. I think that kind of evens out the show, too.

KAMARI: Exactly.

BEN: Even if there is a ton of veterans, it doesn’t matter who you are, when it comes to temple, you better hope that you play the banker right.

KAMARI: Anybody can get it.

My final question for you: how would YOU do if you played Deal or No Deal Island?

KAMARI: We love this question. We’d go all the way to the end, c’mon!

BEN: Competition-wise, we’d be dangerous. Yes, we’d be dangerous.

KARARMI: Yes. We’re both true athletes and Southerners.

BEN: We don’t really have a lot of fear. So I think me and Kamari, we’d end up at the at the bottom two together, and we’d have to go against each other.

KAMARI: And just punch in or something.

BEN: Yeah, that’s what we always say. We’d make sure we both eat.

I’m ready for an All Star season, I’m waiting for the two of you to be on it.

BEN: Right?

KAMARI: Listen, we wouldn’t mind the other side of things, okay?

BEN: Yeah, right. Listen, I wouldn’t be mad.

Deal or No Deal Island airs Tuesdays at 9:00pm on NBC. All episodes are available to stream on Peacock.

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