The dark side ofThe Price Is Rightis getting the scripted treatment.
Production company The Gotham Group is developing a new project based on David Kushner's bombshell 2024 report forBusiness Insiderexposing iconic hostBob Barker's private dark side and the on-screen models who fought him behind the scenes.
That story has already been developed into the the E! docuseriesDirty Rotten Scandals: The Price Is Right, but now will be going scripted. That's according to Gotham Group producer Eric Robinson, who spoke withEntertainment Weeklyon Wednesday.
"We had actually been talking to David about doing something with his brilliant piece" beforeDirty Rotten Scandalsdropped, Robinson says. But where that series did a "fantastic job" doing an "exposé on Bob Barker," the Gotham folks are "interested in telling the story of these amazing women, and their strength at a time when that was not something that was usual."
The as-yet untitledPrice Is Rightproject also differs fromDirty Rotten Scandalsin being scripted, though it has yet to be determined whether it will take shape as a series or feature film.
Kushner is attached to the Gotham project as he was toDirty Rotten Scandals.He will assist the production company behind films likeSpringsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhereand theMaze Runnertrilogy and series likePercy Jackson and the Olympiansin shining a light on what Robinson describes as an "incredible story to be told of these amazing women who bonded together when nobody would listen to them, of their fight for their rights. [They] fought for their truth to be heard against some very powerful figures."
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Indeed, Kushner's reporting uncoveredshocking allegationsof manipulation, obstruction, sexual harassment, and racism, many of them pointing directly to Barker, whodied in 2023at the age of 99.
The lion's share of those allegations came from the so-called "Barker's Beauties," or models who presented the game show's prizes to the audience and contestants. Among the most disturbing, former models Kathleen Bradley and Claudia Jordanallege they experienced near-constant racismfrom fans, producers, and Barker himself.
Holly Hallstrom, who led the charge to tell the Beauties' side of the story to the world, claimed inDirty Rotten Scandalsthat Barker "always said that Black men are the most diseased people on Earth." Several former models also alleged numerous instances of sexual harassment and abuse, and Hallstrom claimed a producer pressured her into undergoing cosmetic surgery for the show.
In March, Roger Dobkowitz, who co-producedThe Price Is Rightfor 36 years, calledDirty Rotten Scandals"an obvious hit piece"in an effort to "defend the dignity and integrity of our great show."
"This was very, very, very pre-#MeToo," Robinson explains, pointing tothe feminist movementfounded by Tarana Burke that went viral in 2017, calling on survivors of sexual assault, harassment, and discrimination to speak out publicly. "To have each other's backs against the powers that be at that time, it's an inspirational story."
As for taking on a "longstanding tower of pop culture fandom like Barker," Robinson suspects that "his defenders will say he was a product of his time, but these women have been very vocal and on-the-record, and very upfront about their experiences."
The GothamPrice Is Rightproject is still in early development and working on arranging relationships with the show's survivors. "There's a really human story to be told here," Robinson says, "about the flaws of a man, but also about overcoming adversity."
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