Le Banquier

Le Banquier
"Le Banquier" logo, similar to the US Deal or No Deal logo
Created by	John de Mol
Starring	Julie Snyder
Country of origin	Canada
Original language(s)	French
Production
Executive producer(s)	Daniel Rancourt
Running time	About 1 hour (sometimes more)
Release
Original network	TVA
Original release	January 24, 2007 – present
External links
Website

Le Banquier (English: The Banker) is the Quebec adaptation of the international game show Deal or No Deal. It debuted on January 24, 2007 at 9pm on the TVA network. The program, produced in Montreal by JPL Production II Inc. and Endemol USA for TVA, is hosted by Julie Snyder. The show's main sponsors are Vidéotron and Hyundai.

The show's first season ended on March 29, 2007. During the first season, episodes aired on Wednesdays at 9pm and Thursdays at 8pm.

During the second season, episodes aired on Sundays at 7pm and Thursdays at 8pm.

As this version of the franchise is produced by the US arm of Endemol, the rules are played similar to the American version: the number of cases opened in each round starts with six cases in round one, then five in round two, and so on, all the way down to one case in round six and subsequent rounds. The game is practically the same as the American version, except that the largest cash prize is $500,000 (originally to have been $250,000) and it's tax free Canadian money. Of the 26 models, 6 of them are men, holding cases 21 through 26. This is in contrast to the other versions airing in North America that use permanent models (Deal or No Deal, Vas o No Vas, Deal or No Deal Canada), where all models are women. (Note that the US daytime version, which closely resembles the British version, uses 22 cases held by the potential contestants.)

Like the US version, some of the offers may be prizes, in addition to, or instead of, a cash offer — like the US show, the prizes tend to be what the contestant wants. For example: on the first episode on January 24, 2007, one contestant was offered $15,000, plus a mountain bike worth $1,000 (as there was an ET joke going on), plus tickets to see the Montreal Canadiens NHL hockey team play an upcoming game with the Carolina Hurricanes.