In an announcement that shook the game show world, Pat Sajak revealed he is going to retire as host of Wheel of Fortune at the end of the upcoming season of the long-running game show, which will happen sometime in spring 2024.
While his official exit is still a ways off, conversation almost immediately moved to who will be the next Wheel of Fortune host. Sajak himself commented on that fact in his goodbye message.
It did not take long, however, for the Wheel of Fortune team to tap a successor to the big wheel, as American Idol host and TV personality Ryan Seacrest has been announced as the next Wheel of Fortune host.
Seacrest shared the news and a heartfelt message on his Instagram account:
There are a couple of things to note from Seacrest's post. First and foremost is the last line, which reads, "I can't wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White." That signals that White, who has been as constant a figure on Wheel of Fortune as Sajak, is going to remain on the game show after Sajak exits.
Many online publications (including What to Watch) thought White could have been a replacement for Sajak, seeing as she has been on the show for nearly 40 years and previously hosted while Sajak was absent. However, she'll stay at the big board as a steadying, possibly as a steadying presence as they get used to Seacrest taking on the big shoes.
But, as reported almost immediately after Sajak revealed he was exiting, Seacrest was pushing to take on the role.
One candidate to replace Pat Sajak?@RyanSeacrest. The host has been talking to the producers of Wheel of Fortune.Some sources say he's the frontrunner. Others say he is just one of many interested. https://t.co/dCiKZ2Ch0sJune 13, 2023
Others that had mentioned they were interested or were considered betting favorites by oddsmakers included Whoopi Goldberg, Wayne Brady and Jane Lynch, while the WTW staff had thoughts that Maggie Sajak, Terry Crews, or Amy Poehler could be fun possibilities.
Another fun fact from Seacrest's post is that he actually already has game show experience, sharing that his first job on TV was hosting a game show called Click that was produced by Merv Griffin, who also helped create Wheel of Fortune. Click, which played on the then new idea of the internet, only ran for a couple of years and just in syndication and was not widely seen.
That'll certainly won't be the case as Seacrest takes over on Wheel of Fortune (and presumably Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, as well).
In addition to American Idol, Seacrest was also the co-host on Live with Kelly and Ryan (now Live with Kelly and Mark) for a number of years and he hosts ABC's annual New Year's Rockin' Eve.
