Following Pat Sajak‘s retirement announcement after 41 years of game show hosting, Ryan Seacrest has officially been named the next host of Wheel of Fortune. Seacrest confirmed the news on Twitter simply captioned “Wheel of Fortune,” but with a photo of text that outlines his feelings about his huge responsibility.
Sajak, , was with Wheel of Fortune essentially from its beginning, making up an iconic team with letter-turner Vanna White, who at has not shared any retirement plans of her own by time of writing. Seacrest himself is just coming off of Live with Kelly and Ryan, which he co-hosted with Kelly Ripa from 2017 to 2023.
‘Wheel of Fortune’ will next be hosted by Ryan Seacrest
Wheel of Fortune pic.twitter.com/pQeTpWsPx7
— Ryan Seacrest (@RyanSeacrest) June 27, 2023
“I’m truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak,” said Seacrest in his Twitter post. “I can say, along with the rest of America, that it’s been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at home with them.”
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Seacrest went on to celebrate Sajak and his style of hosting, saying he would forever “love the way you’ve always celebrated contestants and made viewers at home feel at ease. I look forward to learning everything I can from you during this transition.”
For Seacrest, this is actually a “full circle moment,” as his very first big gig was hosting the Merv Griffin-created show Click. It was Griffin who created Wheel of Fortune back in the mid-’70s. Click, meanwhile, aired in syndication in ’97 and was geared towards teens growing up with the advent of the internet.
Take the wheel
Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it’ll keep the clickbait sites busy!)
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) June 12, 2023
“Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last,” Sajak announced in a tweet of his own on June 12. “It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all.”
His longtime co-host White, when asked in the past about Wheel of Fortune without Sajak, would say she doesn’t “even want to think about” such a scenario. “I couldn’t be happier to have shared the stage with you for all these years with one more to come,” she said when news of his retirement broke. “Cheers to you, Pat Sajak!”
Seacrest also left a colleague of his behind when he departed Live! With Kelly and Ryan to pursue different projects. “I’ll be transitioning out of Live this Spring to shoot the 21st season of American Idol in LA, continue my radio show on KIIS-FM and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve, and focus my summer on opening three more Ryan Seacrest Foundation Studios in pediatric hospitals across the country,” he explained at the time. Seacrest, in turn, was replaced with Ripa’s husband Mark Consuelos. Earlier reporting indicated that Seacrest had been in talks with Wheel of Fortune executives regarding the position of host.
Sony says that Sajak will continue to act as a consultant for the show for three years after his final season.
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