New Wheel of Fortune host named (1 Viewer)

[Nelson Au]

Not sure anyone cares, they named Ryan Seacrest to replace Pat Sajak. I’m a little surprised. I guess being west coast based, it’s easier then when Ryan was doing Live with Kelly. This guy has enough to do though.

Ryan Seacrest Named ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Host, Replacing Pat Sajak

Seacrest will take over when the longtime emcee retires after the 2023-24 season.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[Malcolm R]

I'm not sure why they selected or named a replacement so soon. Sajak is still there for another year. Though I'm not sure I really care one way or another. I don't watch Wheel that often anymore.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Seacrest is a safe choice, and there's nothing wrong with making the safe choice. The general public is already familiar with him from his other projects and he has lots of hosting experience. Plus, he has already been vetted for his other jobs, so Sony is unlikely to find anything objectionable and will get to avoid the unpleasantness from the Jeopardy transition. By naming the new host now, they can just focus on Pat having a great celebratory final season that he deserves without having the question of the future hanging over the show.

I don't think it will be a big problem with Seacrest's other commitments either because I'm pretty sure they tape a few times a month and typically do six shows in a day.

 

[John Dirk]

With a current net worth topping 450 million, the question I have is why Seacrest would even want the gig. Personally, I'd like to see a lesser celeb or unknown get a chance but @Jake Lipson 's points regarding Sony's mindset do make good business sense.

 

[Edwin-S]

I'm surprised his daughter wasn't named, since she is already doing the social.media thing with WoF.

 

[John Dirk]

I'm surprised his daughter wasn't named, since she is already doing the social.media thing with WoF.

I would say fear of nepotism claims but this is network TV so no such fear exists.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Pat's daughter Maggie is in law school. Doing social media stuff for them from time to time is one thing, but I doubt she'd want a permanent position like that.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

This choice reeks of them just wanting to avoid the "Jeopardy!" debacle.

 

[Lord Dalek]

This choice reeks of them just wanting to avoid the "Jeopardy!" debacle.

Wheel's been there done that. Consider the tragedy of Benirschke the foolish.

 

[Nelson Au]

The future of Vanna‘s participation on Wheel is unknown as far as I can see.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Wheel's been there done that. Consider the tragedy of Benirschke the foolish.

And this time they don't have the impending failure of Sajak's talk show to bail them out.

The future of Vanna‘s participation on Wheel is unknown as far as I can see.

I think a lot of the speculation in that area is resulting from the ongoing contract negotiations between Vanna and the studio. Vanna has framed the issue as one of pay equity, as her salary has long lagged far behind Pat's. The studio is playing hardball by threatening to eliminate her role altogether.

My guess is that they'll compromise somewhere in the middle, and Vanna will stay on as long as she wants to keep doing it. Especially with Pat leaving, her sticking around provides an important source of continuity during the transition. If they do ever eliminate the letter-turner role, now that it's no longer strictly necessary, I can't imagine it will be before Vanna's own retirement. She's a decade younger than Pat, so that might not be for a while.

 

[bmasters9]

By naming the new host now, they can just focus on Pat having a great celebratory final season that he deserves

And over those 40 years in syndie from '83 to now (the syndie Wheel is almost at the 40th anniversary of its debut), there have been plenty of memories (big wins, bloopers and other magical moments-- you name it, it's happened).

 

[Greg.K]

 

[nanook]

Seacrest is a safe choice, and there's nothing wrong with making the safe choice. The general public is already familiar with him from his other projects and he has lots of hosting experience. Plus, he has already been vetted for his other jobs, so Sony is unlikely to find anything objectionable and will get to avoid the unpleasantness from the Jeopardy transition. By naming the new host now, they can just focus on Pat having a great celebratory final season that he deserves without having the question of the future hanging over the show.

I don't think it will be a big problem with Seacrest's other commitments either because I'm pretty sure they tape a few times a month and typically do six shows in a day.

You make many valid points - and clearly how Big Business "thinks" - especially these times. However, the issue with 'playing safe' is the result(s) rarely yield anything but mediocrity. Ryan Seacrest... ho-hum... who cares.

It's doubtful had Merv been alive, and had say-so in the decision, THIS pathetic choice would have seen fruition. I hope Sony regrets this choice for some time. Evidently the Idiots are still minding the store-!

 

[Nelson Au]

Vanna is staying for 2 more years.

Vanna White Extends ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Tenure Through 2025-26

The co-host will remain with the show for two years after the retirement of Pat Sajak.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[Nelson Au]

Last night I happen to catch a Celebrity Wheel of Fortune with Ken Jennings, Mayim Bialik and Vanna White as the celebrity guests. Pat’s daughter took over for Vanna as letter turner.

I was very impressed with Ken Jennings, he was able to solve the puzzles with very few letters. Mayim was very impressive too and beat out Ken and Vanna. Vanna didn’t have a good night. It made me wonder if they made a grave error with Ryan Seacrest and perhaps could have considered Ken as the host of Wheel too. But I realize thats probably not possible.