It was undoubtedly the end of an era when Pat Sajak announced his retirement after 41 years as host of the iconic game show Wheel Of Fortune.
Pat took the reins in 1981 when the show’s beloved original host Chuck Woolery retired. He lead the daytime version of the show until 1989 and hosted the evening version with Vanna White since 1983, growing it to become one of the most popular programs currently syndicated, pulling in an average of 9 million daily viewers in the 2022-23 season.
Of course, many fans thought Vanna White may get the nod as new host given her time with the program and the fact that she’s guest hosted in the past, but just today we got word that the producers were going with an outside hire for the open position.
Ryan Seacrest has been selected as the third Wheel Of Fortune host in history.
The 48 year old from Dunwood, Georgia has been one of, if not the, most well recognized TV host in recent years. Notably, he’s hosted American Idol since 2002 and stepped in to co-host Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve in 2005 after its namesake suffered a stroke which limited his mobility and speaking ability, taking over as sole host in 2013 after Dick’s death.
Now Seacrest gets to add yet another major feather in his cap.
He released the following statement on Twitter discussing the new gig.
“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 viewers at home feel at ease. I look forward to learning everything I can from you during this transition.”
Wheel of Fortune pic.twitter.com/pQeTpWsPx7
— Ryan Seacrest (@RyanSeacrest) June 27, 2023
But more interesting than a somewhat obvious choice to take the reins was a comment made by Pat during a show in 2012, where he jokingly said that Ryan Seacrest would be on speed-dial after he made a mistake.
Take a look at that below.
Pat Sajak actually predicted Ryan Seacrest replacing him back in 2012! After he made a mistake, he joked, “Seacrest is on speed dial.” #WheelofFortune @RyanSeacrest @PatOnWheel pic.twitter.com/ZOJgYVHArS
— WheelRob (@WheelRob10) June 27, 2023
Again, with the recognition and experience that Ryan has, he’s the obvious choice to host just about anything on TV, so the comment probably wasn’t all that serious, but here we are 11 years later and it’s come true.
Despite Ryan’s popularity, more than a few fans are no so happy about this, taking to Twitter to voice their opinions on the soon to be third ever host of Wheel Of Fortune.
Oh hell no, this is a deal killer. @WheelofFortune everyone is so damn sick of @RyanSeacrest Rethink this for real, PUCK🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮https://t.co/r4tcIHj1Ta
— (the) RB (@rsbru01) June 27, 2023
He’s worth $450,000,000
Gawd, give another person a job, eh! pic.twitter.com/CzTZNEqBmV
— 🌈💙💛🇺🇦 (@casualcactii) June 27, 2023
There are endless talented people out there and milquetoast Ryan Seacrest keeps getting every job. He’s not unique or interesting. Stop giving him work, my goodness. https://t.co/ryMnbfy6dG
— Blue Check Official Nick Case (@Nick422) June 27, 2023
Everybody is worried about AI taking every artist's job. Nobody is worried about Ryan Seacrest taking every host's job.
— Dirk Libbey (@childe_dirk) June 27, 2023
Seriously is Ryan Seacrest the only person in Hollywood that can host shit….give someone else a shot….remember we all wanted @levarburton for Jeopardy so why not him for Wheel of Fortune https://t.co/g1ii09eQJC
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) June 27, 2023
Of course, there were more than a few people happy with this, but from what I was able to see the response was way more negative than they must have hoped.
Let’s just hope he’s able to live up to the Wheel Of Fortune standard, because a show that good deserves to stay running for many years to come.
