Drew Carey Compares Hosting 'The Price Is Right' To The Washington Monument: 'Taking Care Of This Old Thing That People Treasure'

(CBS) - The Price Is Right will celebrate 50 years tonight on CBS starting at 9:00PM ET/PT. In addition to a new game tonight will also feature montages from the last five decades and special guests.

CBS' Matt Weiss spoke to Drew Carey about this special celebration, having fans back and how exactly those cars get on stage.

MW- Hello Drew! Nice to see you today and congrats on the big special tonight celebrating 50 years of The Price Is Right. Right off the bat what does that number mean to you being a part of a show that's been on for half a century?

DC- You know, there's not many TV shows that make it that far and I really have to credit just the structure of the show. I can't take any credit for this at all, really, except for like carrying the torch and being a good steward, I guess.

The better stewards are all the people in the production office that have been there longer than me and have a really invested stake in the show. People really do care a lot about this show that work on it and it really shows in the final product.

It's just really interesting and a great place for me to be when everybody cares so much about putting a good product out and making people happy. They know what a history the show has and they're taking extra care of it. I don't know it's like working at the Washington Monument or something, taking care of this old thing that people treasure. [Laughs]

MW- Well, you've been the head caretaker of the Washington Monument for 14 years with that analogy. What are you most proud of from your tenure?

DC- I don't know, I don't really think like that. I'm just glad the show still doing well, you know? I know what a team effort it is because I see it behind the scenes. I'm here watching the people behind the camera run in and out when the contestants are coming down setting up the prizes.

You know the grips and the crew are pushing cars and racing to plug things in. I don't know I can't take pride, I just feel fortunate to work with a crew like that and to work with people like that. I feel a lot of gratitude and I do feel really fortunate and blessed to be in this position.

MW- Good point you never think about how the cars get there...

DC- Oh yea and they're not allowed to start them on stage because we're in an enclosed building and we don't want people to faint, you know, carbon monoxide poisoning. I mean they unhook the batteries  and there's like a team that pushes the cars around the stage, down a ramp, then outside. It's really like a big production backstage, it's crazy,

MW- Especially important now that there are fans in the building again! How much different is it now with people in the crowd?

DC- It was a little weird when we didn't have any audience at all, but the people that did show up were very enthusiastic and great, so that made it good. It's much better now though and it's not a full 300- plus size audience like we had before COVID, but it's way better and it looks really good.

The production team did such a good job putting everything together and making it look good, which was another big accomplishment by them. Things were changing day-to-day you know and whether we're gonna have a full audience or not we were going to have the show.

So yeah, feels a lot better now with people I can talk to and it's a lot more noise. It was a little more mellow without an audience, like I was just talking to somebody in my living room and now it's an audience again, so that feels a better.

MW- Glad we'll have an audience tonight to supply that energy tonight for the 50 year special. What are you most excited for tonight?

DC- There's a lot of great clips in the show. The rest of the show is a regular show and we're giving away really good prizes, we have a couple new games that are that are fun. We have a couple of really great celebrity guests that I'm excited about.

One of those guests is a secret I'm not allowed to say but it's a really famous person. There's so many good clips and moments from the show. The main part of the show is watching all this history. It's really great to watch just as a TV fan. They showed the clips live in the studio and I was just there with my jaw hitting the floor watching. It's going to be really fun.

MW- The Price Is Right is such a big part of TV history and something everyone feels connected to so I'm very excited for the special tonight and congrats to you for your 14 years at the helm keeping that old monument good and shiny. Thanks for the time Drew and all the best moving forward!

DC- Thanks buddy, take care!

The Price Is Right Celebrates 50 Years is on tonight at 9:00PM ET/PT on CBS and streaming with Paramount+. Check your local listings for more information.