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Eric McCandless/ABC, via Getty Images For 40 years, contestants on “Wheel of Fortune,” the TV game show staple, have hoped to reach the final puzzle, called the bonus round. A correct guess can mean a new car, $40,000 or even $1 million. Pat Sajak, who will retire as host after this season, has also remained […] More
The game show has demonstrated remarkable durability even as traditional television has declined in the wake of streaming entertainment.Ryan Seacrest, the dexterous Hollywood master of ceremonies, was named the next host of “Wheel of Fortune” on Tuesday, succeeding the longtime host Pat Sajak in 2024.The selection of a star like Mr. Seacrest by Sony Pictures Television, the studio behind the show, is a big bet on “Wheel of Fortune.” The show has demonstrated remarkable durability even as traditional television has declined in the wake of streaming entertainment.The swift decision by Sony executives, made just two weeks after Mr. Sajak announced he would step down next year, also suggests that they are hoping to avoid the succession fiasco that nearly overwhelmed their other hit game show, “Jeopardy!”Vanna White, Mr. Sajak’s longtime “Wheel of Fortune” co-host, is under contract for another year, and is in negotiations to continue with the show, said a person with knowledge of the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity.“I’m truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak,” Mr. Seacrest said in a statement. “I can’t wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White.”In replacing Mr. Sajak, Mr. Seacrest will face a test: He’ll be replacing a host who is virtually synonymous with the show, like Bob Barker was with “The Price Is Right” or Alex Trebek with “Jeopardy!”Mr. Sajak, a former Los Angeles weatherman, as well as Ms. White, came to “Wheel of Fortune” in the early 1980s and turned the show into a major hit. Within a few years, “Wheel of Fortune” spawned board games, video games, casino slot machines and, eventually, a prime-time spinoff, “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.”Though “Wheel of Fortune” hardly holds the same spot it once did in American culture — at its height in the 1980s, the game show had a nightly audience of more than 40 million viewers — it remains one of the most popular entertainment programs on television.At its height of popularity in the 1980s, “Wheel of Fortune” had a nightly audience of more than 40 million viewers.ABC, via Everett CollectionIn the most recent television season, “Wheel of Fortune” averaged 8.6 million viewers a night, just a shade behind the 9.1 million who watched “Jeopardy!,” according to Nielsen. Those audiences are nearly as big as anything on prime-time TV, aside from football games.Hosting a popular game show, which requires little more than a few days of work a month, is one of the most coveted jobs in all of entertainment. Landing the job adds another notch to Mr. Seacrest’s résumé, which has included stints as a daytime talk show host, competition series host, red carpet interviewer, radio host and New Year’s Eve master of ceremonies.Mr. Seacrest left “Live,” the morning show mainstay that he hosted with Kelly Ripa, this year after a successful six-year run. He continues to host ABC’s “American Idol,” which garnered an audience of more than six million this past television season, according to Nielsen.When Mr. Sajak announced on June 12 that he would be leaving the show, many in the entertainment industry thought the search for his replacement could take months. Still, succession speculation began immediately, and on social media many “Wheel of Fortune” fans called for Ms. White to take over as host. Puck reported last week that she was in negotiations for a new “Wheel of Fortune” contract.Underscoring just how much celebrity entertainers covet the position, Joy Behar remarked on “The View” two weeks ago that her co-host Whoopi Goldberg had interest in hosting “Wheel of Fortune.”“I want that job,” Ms. Goldberg replied definitively, to the cheers of the studio audience. “I think it would be lots of fun.”After Mr. Trebek died in 2020, Sony trotted out a rotating cast of potential “Jeopardy!” successors, who filled in as guest host for a week or two at a time. In 2021, Sony announced that Mike Richards, the show’s executive producer, would take over hosting duties at “Jeopardy!”But within a matter of days, reports surfaced that Mr. Richards had made a series of sexist and offensive remarks years earlier, and, amid a public uproar, he was pushed out of the job — first as host and then as executive producer of the show. It took nearly another year for Sony to announce that Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik would be the permanent hosts of “Jeopardy!”Over the last year, the drama surrounding “Jeopardy!” has settled down considerably, and the show has sustained its strong ratings.Two weeks ago, Mr. Jennings was asked on “The View” who should take replace Mr. Sajak.“That’s an interesting question,” Mr. Jennings said, adding: “Hopefully, ‘Wheel’ has got an envelope somewhere that says, ‘What to do when Pat packs it in.’” More
The game show host, a mainstay of American television, has starred on the program since 1981. He said he will step down in 2024.Pat Sajak, who as the host of “Wheel of Fortune” since 1981 became one of the most familiar faces on American television, announced on Monday that he will retire next year.“The time has come,” Mr. Sajak, 76, said on Twitter. “I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last.”Over the four-plus decades that Mr. Sajak has hosted the show, more than 10,000 people have auditioned for the “Wheel of Fortune,” which has drawn more than 26 million viewers per week, according to Sony Pictures Television, the studio that owns it.Suzanne Prete, executive vice president of game shows for Sony Pictures Television, said in a statement on Monday night that the studio was “incredibly grateful and proud to have had Pat as our host for all these years.”“We look forward to celebrating his outstanding career throughout the upcoming season,” Ms. Prete said.Mr. Sajak agreed to continue as a consultant for three years after his final season, Ms. Prete said.It was unclear who would take over the hosting duties after Mr. Sajak retires.Vanna White, Mr. Sajak’s longtime co-host, did not post any comment on social media on Monday night. She briefly stepped in for Mr. Sajak in 2019, when he needed an emergency surgery to fix a blocked intestine.While Ms. White filled in for Mr. Sajak, his daughter, Maggie Sajak, took over Ms. White’s puzzleboard duties. Ms. Sajak is a social correspondent for the show, posting digital content. The show, which was created by Merv Griffin in 1975, features contestants who try to guess word puzzles to compete for cash, of which more than $250 million had been awarded since it premiered, according to Sony. More
