What WHEEL OF FORTUNE Should Consider When Finding Pat Sajak’s Replacement
By Movieguide® Contributor
With Pat Sajak’s retirement from WHEEL OF FORTUNE, the show has big shoes to fill and should take note from other gameshows that have had to replace longtime hosts.
Having hosted the show for more than 40 years, Pat Sajak has become synonymous with the WHEEL OF FORTUNE brand. While it will be difficult to find a replacement for such an iconic host, the show can improve its odds by looking at other gameshows.
“The producers of WHEEL OF FORTUNE and the network need to start finding a replacement now,” Rob Weiner, Pop Culture Librarian at Texas Tech University, told Fox News Digital. “They should do a careful search to find someone who was excellent people skills, someone with charisma and who knows how to handle the requirements of the job.”
“The producers need to meticulously interview and search for people who can fit the job but also someone who can relate to the audience. A person who is lively,” he explained. “Pat Sajak has hosted ‘Wheel’ for over 40 years. Audiences are often resistant to [change], so whoever takes over has big shoes to fill.”
“WHEEL OF FORTUNE faces two possible paths in securing a replacement host: the relatively smooth PRICE IS RIGHT transition with Drew Carey or the far rockier multiple-host approach of JEOPARDY!” he continued.
When Drew Carey replaced Bob Barker as the host of PRICE IS RIGHT, the show had a relatively smooth transition. Carey had been semi-retired from television when he was approached to take over the show in 2007. He had become a household name thanks to the nine-year run of his sitcom THE DREW CAREY SHOW.
Carey was initially hesitant to replace Barker whose 35 years as host had made him seem irreplaceable.
“If you think I’m going to sit at THE PRICE IS RIGHT so everybody can take potshots at me, forget it,” he told CBS News at the time, initially turning down the offer.
After sitting with the idea and talking with some friends, Carey ultimately decided to accept the position.
In the 16 years since, he has put his own twist on the show – differentiating himself from Barker – while also keeping many elements the same, such as Barker’s iconic “Have your pets spayed or neutered” sign-off.
“Drew Carey was a well-known pop-culture individual, but what sold audiences was his charm,” Weiner said. “Drew from the beginning did a good job at winning over not only the contestant but the hardcore fans.”
When JEOPARDY! transitioned hosts in early 2021, things went a lot less smoothly. Similar to ‘Wheel’ and PRICE IS RIGHT, JEOPARDY! had been hosted by Alex Trebek for 37 seasons when he left the show. His reason for departure was very different though, as he passed away from pancreatic cancer only a few weeks after taping his final show.
“When a beloved personality like Trebek loses a very public battle with cancer, there is a sense of loss and mourning. The stakes were arguably higher for the JEOPARDY! transition than other shows in recent memory,” Doug Eldridge of Achilles PR told Fox News Digital.
Rather than have the replacement host already chosen, the show started rotating through celebrity hosts week by week. During this time celebrities such as Aaron Rodgers, Anderson Cooper, Mayim Bialik, Katie Couric, the show’s then-executive producer Mike Richards, and many more did a stint as the show’s host.
Ultimately, Richards and Bialik were chosen as the show’s hosts. However, Richards was forced to step down soon after due to a discrimination lawsuit from 2010 coming to light. He was replaced by the former JEOPARDY! champion Ken Jennings.
The show’s host choice left many fans frustrated and feeling unheard as the celebrity hosts they most liked seemed like they never got a shot at being chosen as permanent hosts.
“Fans should be annoyed because it seemed like the way the producers went about filling the host spot did not take into account the fans,” Weiner said. “By having several hosts, it was just too much for audiences to bear. It would have been better if they just picked someone and stuck with them. But again, those were big shoes to fill.”
As WHEEL OF FORTUNE starts the search for a new host, they would do best to keep the success of PRICE IS RIGHT and the failure of JEOPARDY! in mind. As the show pursues a replacement, they need to find someone who can win over contestants and hardcore fans. If they allow the public to weigh in on the decision, they need to show that they have considered the fans’ opinions.
While nothing has officially been announced, many people see Ryan Seacrest as an obvious frontrunner for the job. He recently left his position at LIVE! WITH KELLY AND RYAN, opening up his schedule for something like hosting ‘Wheel.’ Another front-running contender is Sajak’s current co-host Vanna White who has been flipping letters on the show since 1962. She took over his hosting duties in 2019 when Sajak took time off for surgery.
Movieguide® previously reported on Sajak’s retirement:
Longtime WHEEL OF FORTUNE host Pat Sajak announced that he is retiring from the show at the end of the next season.
“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,” Sajak said via Twitter.
Sajak took over the show in 1981 from Chuck Woolery who had hosted for the show’s first 6 years. In the 40 years since he took over, WHEEL OF FORTUNE has become a television mainstay and one of the longest continually running televised gameshows.
“As the host of WHEEL OF FORTUNE, Pat has entertained millions of viewers across America for 40 amazing years,” executive vice-president of gameshows for Sony Pictures Television, Suzanne Prete, said. “We are incredibly grateful and proud to have had Pat as our host for all these years and we look forward to celebrating his outstanding career throughout the upcoming season.”
Following his retirement, Sajak will serve as a WHEEL OF FORTUNE consultant for at least three years before he fully departs from the show.
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