Wheel of Fortune: When is Ryan Seacrest’s first show?
Given that tonight marks Pat Sajak’s farewell on Wheel of Fortune, it makes sense to start wondering about the future. With that in mind, let’s get more into the question above: When is Ryan Seacrest’s first show as host going to be?
For a good while now, it has been clear that the American Idol emcee would be taking the place of Pat on the syndicated game-show. The producers obviously wanted as low-drama a transition as possible, and to avoid all of the drama around Jeopardy! that happened after the sad passing of Alex Trebek. What they should have done is just shortened the hosting search and handed the job to Ken Jennings, especially since that is where they are now.
Will Seacrest be a good host of Wheel of Fortune? That remains to be seen, but it’s easy to imagine why he was in demand for the part. Sajak kept the show geared for all audiences and it feels like the show will adhere to that mainstream, family-friendly format that keeps the focus almost entirely about the puzzles and the contestants. There will be some theme weeks and a whole lot more of what you’ve come to expect. The game here has always been the star and that will continue to be the case.
For those who have not heard, Vanna White is also sticking on board the show moving forward, and is probably going to be all the more important as the producers try to ease into the transition. Change can be hard, and we tend to think that’s even the case when you have a known commodity in Seacrest who has been on television himself for decades.
As for that return date…
Nothing has been confirmed, but based on past seasons, our feeling is that new episodes will emerge starting at some point in mid-September.
Related – Be sure to get some more news on Wheel of Fortune now, including Seacrest’s final message
Do you think that Ryan Seacrest is the right replacement Wheel of Fortune host?
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