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Since Deal or No Deal Island premiered, the reality show that is one of Peacock’s best shows has introduced fans to several new people. Between Maria-Grace ‘MG’ Cook’s hilarious moment, the hilarious Seychelle Cordero’s heartbreaking struggle, and Storm Wilson’s blindside, the show has become a must-see. However, fans have also seen stars on the show like Joe Manganiello, who is a great host, and the Survivor Hall of Famer Parvati Shallow, who feuded with Dr. Will Kirby.
Since Dr. Will has buoyed the show’s ratings between his hilarious scenes and his “Golden Gods” feud with David, casting all stars like him would be tempting. However, there are important reasons why Deal or No Deal Island needs to resist the temptation of casting only reality show legends.
Deal Or No Deal Island’s Mix Of Legends And Newbies Makes It A Great Show
During the first season of the U.S. version of The Traitors, there was a mix of legends and first-time reality show stars. However, when The Traitors returned for its second season, and ever since then, the show has switched to an all-legends format.
It is very easy to understand why The Traitors made that change. After all, each new reality TV legend they announce is bound to attract some new viewers. However, that doesn’t mean that making that switch is what is best for viewers.
When Deal or No Deal Island’s third season gets produced, it wouldn’t be shocking if the show went to an all-legends format. That said, based on Deal or No Deal Island’s first two seasons, it is clear that the show’s mix of legends and newbies is what makes it so great.
Before the first two seasons of Deal or No Deal Island were announced, fans were excited by the inclusion of reality show legends.
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Which Celebrities Have Played Deal or No Deal Island |
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|---|---|
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Claim To Fame |
Celebrity |
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Survivor Hall of Famer |
“Boston” Rob Mariano |
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The Real Housewives of Atlanta/The Celebrity Apprentice |
Claudia Jordan |
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Big Brother Icon |
Dr. Will Kirby |
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Survivor Hall of Famer |
Parvati Shallow |
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Australian Survivor Legend |
David Genat |
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Former Miss Indiana USA/Professional Wrestler |
Alexis Lete |
Considering that fans don’t know who the newbies are, it only makes sense for them to focus on the inclusion of the legends. After all, millions of reality show fans were excited to see more of Dr. Will Kirby, Parvati Shallow, “Boston” Rob Mariano, and David Genat.
However, once both seasons started airing, fans began to also focus on some of the first-time reality show stars that have been introduced.
During DONDI’s second season, viewers were introduced to Dickson Wong. A first-time reality show star, Dickson did something extremely impressive since he became the focus of a lot of the show’s episodes. Dickson became a huge part of the show, partially because of his relationships with the season’s legends.
On the one hand, Dickson became a member of “The Family” alliance with the Survivor legends Parvati and David.
When Dickson Wong was exclusively interviewed by TheThings journalist Matthew Thomas in March 2025, he revealed why being a part of “The Family” alliance was hard. As Dickson pointed out, his allies Parvati and David almost always being safe put him in a lot of peril. “They were safe all the time. Like, I had my game in my own hands all the time.”
While Dickson was fully embraced by Parvati and David, he was completely rejected by Big Brother’s Dr. Will Kirby. After labeling Dickson a “weasel,” Dr. Will made it clear he wanted nothing to do with the newbie. Having a reality show newbie rub elbows with several legends was incredibly compelling. Not only that, Dickson’s fascinating relationship with his fellow newbie Alexis Lete was also a lot of fun to watch.
During the first season of Deal or No Deal Island, “Boston” Rob took the newbie Aron Barbell under his wing. Seeing the newbie grapple with his admiration for “Boston” Rob as he wanted to beat the Survivor legend made the season great.
In January 2025, Collider published an article arguing that Survivor legends competing on Deal or No Deal Island or The Traitors is unfair. While former Survivor players who are strategic masterminds are going to be hard to beat, that dynamic makes the shows interesting for viewers. On top of that, the Survivor legends also have to deal with the huge target that is placed on their backs.
As great as it was to see Aron deal with playing with the Survivor icon, his relationship with the newbie created some of the best moments of “Boston” Rob’s career.
Throughout “Boston” Rob’s Survivor career, he often teamed up with naive players he could lead. Still, there was something more sweet about “Boston” Rob and Aron’s relationship.
While fans have long known that “Boston” Rob is a father, he has always been so cutthroat as a player that the world hadn’t seen that side. However, “Boston” Rob really seemed to care about Aron and he spoke to him in a way that almost seemed fatherly. Every “Boston” Rob fan has to watch Deal or No Deal Island Season 1 to see his relationship with Aron alone.
It also has to be noted that the way that Dr. Will manipulated all the newbies he played with during Deal or No Deal Island Season 2 was incredibly entertaining. In fact, as awesome as Dr. Will has always been, it could be argued that his DONDI antics were the highlights of his reality show career. After all, it truly was hilarious to see Dr. Will mess with a whole new generation of reality show stars.
If it wasn’t for the fact that Deal or No Deal Island casts legends and newbies, fans would have missed out on so much. With that in mind, it would be a shame if the show embraced an all-legends format.
Deal Or No Deal Island Casting Legends Only Would Be Bad For The Reality Show Genre
For the team behind Deal or No Deal Island, it is their job to solely concern themselves with the show’s success. However, fans of the show who also care about the reality show genre as a whole should really be rooting for DONDI to continue casting some newbies.
During Deal or No Deal Island Season 2, fans were introduced to Seychelle Cordero. Even if the rest of the season’s newbies were all duds, the discovery of Seychelle alone makes casting newbies extremely worthwhile.
To be clear, Deal or No Deal Island Season 2’s cast was truly incredible since there were so many entertaining new people. That said, anyone who watched the season will almost certainly agree that Seychelle is a special reality show star.
A truly hilarious person, Seychelle seemed to have a perfect one-liner for almost every situation on the show. As a result, there were times when it was notably disappointing that the show didn’t cut to Seychelle to give her commentary on what was happening.
If Seychelle never appears on another reality show, it will be incredibly disappointing. For example, Seychelle seems like a perfect person to join the cast of The Traitors since her one-liners would fit in Alan Cumming’s castle perfectly. On top of that, Seychelle is obviously very intelligent and knows how to stick up for herself, so seeing her at a roundtable would be incredible.
Seychelle is just one example of the amazing reality show newbies that Deal or No Deal Island has found. Missing out on more people like Seychelle in the future if the show went to an all-legends format would be a crying shame.
