Drew Carey Reflects on 'Price is Right' Legacy, 18 Years After Taking Over From Bob Barker

Drew Carey is marking 18 years and over 3,300 episodes as host of "The Price is Right," and he's still got that 'new kid' feeling. Can you believe it's been that long? Time flies when you're spinning that big wheel! Carey shared with Variety that he sometimes feels like he's always been there, and other times, it hits him that his tenure is only about a third of the show's total run since it began with Bob Barker in 1972. "Bob Barker is two-thirds. I’m still the new guy!" he joked. Barker, who retired in 2007 after an impressive 35 years, passed away two years ago at the age of 99. Carey admitted that when he took over, his main concern was "to not be responsible for ruining the show or killing it." He added, "I knew there was such a culture there, and I really wanted to honor that culture and not rock the boat. And I also wanted to make it my own, but without stepping on anybody’s toes." Carey said he was told he had "big shoes to fill" when he took over for Barker, but he wanted to make the iconic show his own. "I don’t need to walk in his shoes; I brought my own shoes," the former "Whose Line is it Anyway" host said. "I want to honor the show — certainly — and not forget about the importance of him and the path that he blazed," Carey said. "It’s very important to keep the memory of Bob alive. I’m not replacing anybody. I’m just doing a show that he used to do." He compared the shift in hosting to a house remodel. "It was the same structure, but it needed new drapes and wallpaper, you know what I mean?" he said. "You don’t wanna change the show, but you wanna freshen it up a little bit." One notable change Carey implemented was altering the host's introduction from "The star of the show" to simply "host." He explained, "I am not the star of the show; the contestants are the star. I’m not downplaying my role on the show, but people tune in to see the interaction of the contestants, and they want somebody there to interact with them in a good way — because they’re the stars."