'Deal' moves to Connecticut
Show to shoot in Waterford for tax breaks
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The syndicated half-hour gamer, produced by Endemol USA and distributed by NBC Universal Domestic TV, is set to start shooting this summer at the Sonalysts Studio in Waterford, Conn.
Howie Mandel will continue as host and will make the trip to the state when the show is in production. The team behind the show, including exec producer Scott St. John, also will make the move.
Deal follows in the footsteps of NBC U's previous agreement with Connecticut that will move talkers "Jerry Springer," "Maury" and "The Steve Wilkos Show" into the state. Those shows will now be housed in a new Stamford, Conn., studio, separate from where "Deal" is set to be taped.
Like the agreement to move the yakkers, NBC U was lured to move "Deal" to Connecticut thanks to tax incentives. The state is offering a 30% production tax credit.
Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell said the pact would help the state in "growing jobs and improving the economic outlook."
"This is tremendous news for Connecticut and its ever-growing film and television industry," Gov. Rell said in a statement. "We've done everything we can to make our state an attractive and economically smart place to make good film and TV -- and you can see it paying off."
"Deal" was previously shot at the Culver Studios in Culver City. The show's new home, Sonalysts, has been used by musical acts such as Aerosmith, Dave Matthews and Mary J. Blige to record music and shoot videos; Steven Spielberg also filmed a portion of "Amistad" there.
The syndie "Deal" is averaging 2.6 million viewers season-to-date, making it the year's top-rated new first-run strip. It's also the highest-rated syndicated game show in six years, since "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" also made the jump from network to syndication.
"Deal" originally launched on NBC in 2005; Peacock is airing its last episodes in primetime, but the net has no more episodes planned beyond that.
