Wheel of Fortune fans are having a whirlwind of a month. It all started on June 12 when longtime host, Pat Sajak, announced he’ll be leaving the show in 2024 after 41 years. It was an announcement fans had feared for years, but it’s now set to become a reality when the upcoming season comes to a conclusion.
On Tuesday (June 27), Wheel of Fortune fans learned that beloved TV and radio host, Ryan Seacrest, will be replacing Pat Sajak as the show’s host starting at the end of next season. Seacrest confirmed the news in an Instagram post, where he shared his excitement as he steps into the footsteps of a legend.
“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,” Seacrest wrote in the Instagram post. “I can’t wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White.”
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On Wednesday (June 28), Pat Sajak took to Twitter to share his thoughts about his replacement. “I’m looking forward to my final season starting this fall, and then handing over the car keys to Ryan Seacrest in September of 2024,” he wrote – the tweet has more than 155,000 views and more than 1,100 likes.
The tweet comes more than two weeks after he shocked the world with his retirement tweet – which had been seen more than 6.5 million times on Twitter. He revealed that he’ll ‘have more to say in the coming months’ and joked that his retirement will keep the ‘clickbait sites busy’ – and it has done exactly that!
“When we started @WheelofFortune who could have imagined we’d still be at it 41 seasons later? I couldn’t be happier to have shared the stage with you for all these years with one more to come. Cheers to you, @patsajak!” co-host Vanna White wrote on June 13 in response to Sajak’s tweet the day before.
Ever since Ryan Seacrest was announced as the replacement, many fans took to social media to wonder why Pat’s daughter, Maggie Sajak, wasn’t chosen as the new host – others were on board with Vanna White being the replacement. Nonetheless, Wheel of Fortune decided to go in a different route with Ryan.
Did Pat Sajak Predict This Moment? Sort Of!
When Ryan Seacrest confirmed he would be replacing Pat Sajak on Wheel of Fortune starting in 2024, the internet did what it does best and turned up quite the ironic moment between Sajak and a contestant back in 2012 – more than 10 years ago. In the clip, Sajak predicts who his future successor might be.
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
One of the contestants spun the wheel and it landed on a ‘Free Play.’ After he asked for an ‘E,’ Sajak quickly interjected and said he had to choose a consonant – not realizing it was a ‘Free Play.’ It didn’t take long for him to catch his mistake. “Oh, you’re on a free play — you know what, I’m an idiot,” Sajak said.
There were five E’s in the puzzle, but it wasn’t enough to help the contestant solve it. The next contestant spun the wheel and asked to see an ‘N.’ After several N’s were shown, she goes to spin the wheel and that’s when Sajak used his psychic powers. “Seacrest is on speed dial,” he joked after his tiny mistake.
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Now more than a decade later, it appears Ryan Seacrest was on speed dial after all – it only took the show two weeks to lock him in as the replacement. Pat Sajak will serve as a consultant on the show for three years after his retirement as host, while Seacrest will serve as a consulting producer on the show.