Wheel Of Fortune Smiles Upon Seacrest
• It’s official: Ryan Seacrest will take over as the new host of Wheel of Fortune, succeeding Pat Sajak, who recently announced his plans to retire after a remarkable 41 seasons.
Seacrest confirmed the news in an Instagram post that reads, “I’m truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak. 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. Pat, I love the way you’ve always celebrated the contestants and made the viewers at home feel at ease. I look forward to learning everything I can from you during this transition.”
He added, “Many people probably don’t know this, but one of my first jobs was hosting a little game show called Click for Merv Griffin 25 years ago, so this is truly a full-circle moment for me and I’m grateful to Sony for the opportunity. I can’t wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White.”
Seacrest’s new gig comes just months after he signed off his six-year stint as co-host of Live With Kelly and Ryan with Kelly Ripa. As Variety accurately notes, Seacrest is already well-versed in taking up the mantle from another icon — he assumed hosting duties for American Top 40 from the legendary Casey Kasem in 2004, as well as Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, which Seacrest co-hosted and executive produced with Clark from 2006 until Clark’s death in 2012. The show was later rebranded as Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest.
Along with Wheel, Seacrest’s newly revised employment list will now look like this: American Idol, On Air With Ryan Seacrest, American Top 40, New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, and his broadcast foundation: mornings on KIIS-FM/Los Angeles.
