Who will replace Pat Sajak on 'Wheel of Fortune'?
(WJW) – Who will be the next “Wheel of Fortune” host? Pat Sajak, 76, announced Monday he will soon be leaving "Wheel."
“Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all,” he wrote on Twitter.
That will end his run after the 2023-24 television season. Sajak has been hosting "Wheel of Fortune" since 1981. Vanna White joined him as co-host in 1982.
White made her first comments about Sajak’s departure Tuesday.
“When we started 'Wheel of Fortune,' 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, Pat Sajak!” she wrote on Twitter.
Vanna White
Some are wondering if Vanna White is next in line, as she has hosted in the past.
In 2019, she took over hosting duties when Sajak went on medical leave. Even though she’s been on the show for decades, she said she was “very nervous.”
“Normally I just stand there, and I turn my letters, and I'm just happy as can be not having to worry about anything else. But here I am controlling the game, so logistically it was much harder,” she told the New York Times.
She also spoke with Us Weekly at the time, saying: “I have never even thought of hosting the show. Never crossed my mind. But obviously, I stepped in, took one for the team to fill in for him because I’m very familiar with the show after all these years. And our executive producer thought I was the perfect person to do that in his absence. So it was good. It was different. It was fun. But I’m glad he’s back. … I learned that I was very uncomfortable doing it and agreeing to do it because it was just so out of my comfort zone, but I learned that I could step up to the plate if I had to."
Maggie Sajak
Some on social media speculated that Pat Sajak's daughter, Maggie, could be in line for the gig.
Maggie Sajak joined the show in 2021 as the show's social correspondent, and has taken viewers behind the scenes, giving a glimpse of the off-air action and sometimes interviewing the contestants, crew, and staff.
On several occasions she has also filled in for Vanna White, taking over puzzle board duties.
Someone else?
Bloomberg reporter Lucas Shaw tweeted Monday that Ryan Seacrest is a possible successor.
"Some sources say he's the frontrunner," Shaw said. "Others say he is just one of many interested."
Could another potential candidate be "The View" host Whoopi Goldberg? She certainly seems open to the role.
After co-host Joy Behar announced that she wanted to host "Wheel of Fortune," Whoopi confirmed, saying, "I want that job, I think it would be tons of fun."
Yahoo Entertainment pointed out that Goldberg has some game show experience from her time as a producer and center-square participant on "Hollywood Squares" from 1998 to 2004.
A list of potential new hosts for the show has not been announced.