“I’m truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak.” Ryan Seacrest put that line in a statement released by Sony on a Tuesday in late June 2023, the day the studio named him the next host of Wheel of Fortune.
Seacrest, 48, will also work on the show as a consulting producer. He takes over from Sajak, 76, who had said two weeks earlier that the game show’s 41st season, starting in September, would be his last. Sajak announced it in a tweet. “It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months,” he wrote, adding a joke that the news would keep the clickbait sites busy.
Sajak has hosted since 1981. Vanna White, 66, joined a year later as the letter-turner. Sony said Sajak will stay on as a consultant for three years after his final season.
What Seacrest said
Seacrest called it a privilege and a joy to watch Sajak and White on screen for 40 years. He singled out how Sajak “celebrated the contestants” and kept viewers at home at ease, and said he looks forward to learning from him during the handover.
There is also a personal angle. One of his first jobs, about 25 years ago, was hosting a game show called “Click” for Merv Griffin. “Truly a full circle moment for me,” he said. He added that he can’t wait to keep spinning the wheel “alongside the great Vanna White.”
The studio’s view
Suzanne Prete, an executive vice president for game shows at Sony Pictures Television, did not pretend the job is easy. “While Ryan has some big shoes to fill, I’m confident he will connect with our loyal fanbase and excite a whole new audience,” she said.
Ravi Ahuja, chairman of Global Television Studios at Sony Pictures, said Seacrest “loves ‘Wheel’ as much as we do.”
Seacrest’s résumé is long. He has hosted and produced American Idol and On Air with Ryan Seacrest, and he recently left his seat on Live with Kelly and Ryan. He has also worked as a radio host and red carpet interviewer, and has fronted Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve since 2005. His representatives declined to comment further when contacted by the New York Post, which confirmed the news.
