TVSquad

When Drew Carey takes the stage later today to begin taping the 37th season of The Price is Right, he'll be seeing whatever changes they have in store for the first time. Why? Because he's just as much in the dark about it as everyone else is. "They don't tell me anything," he told me on Friday night at the CBS all-star party at the Boulevard3 club in Hollywood. When I asked him if he prefers it that way, he told me "No. It's disheartening. They don't tell me what they're thinking about doing or changing."

Drew also told me that he found out about longtime producer Roger Dobkowitz' dismissal the night before it happened. Executives at Fremantle told him about the change at a dinner near the Price studios. He felt bad for Dobkowitz, especially because of how well he got along with him. When asked if that put a damper on a fairly successful first season, he at first said it didn't, then he reconsidered. "Well, yeah it did, actually, because I really thought the world of him and I was sad that he let go. But like I said, I'm like an employee. They don't discuss their personnel changes with me."

The entire interview, including a response from CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler, is after the jump.