“Seacrest out?” No, Ryan Seacrest is in as the host of “Wheel of Fortune.” The multi-tasker will replace the show’s longtime host Pat Sajak, who will exit the show at the end of its next season.
When Seacrest announced Tuesday that he would replace the retiring host in September 2024, he referenced a short-lived game show that he hosted in the late ’90s.
“Many people probably don’t know this but one of my first jobs was hosting a little game show called ‘Click’ for Merv Griffin (also the creator of ‘Wheel’ and ‘Jeopardy!’) 25 years ago,” Seacrest shared in a statement posted to Instagram, ”so this is truly a full circle moment for me… ”
What hasn’t Seacrest done since dropping out of the University of Georgia after just one year of school and setting his sights on Hollywood? The producer of E!’s “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” and “Live from the Red Carpet” specials, and TV and radio host has had quite a bit of, well, “Fortune.”
Six seasons of ‘Live’ on ‘Kelly and Ryan’
Seacrest, 48, joined the syndicated morning talk show in 2017, replacing Kelly Ripa’s former co-host Michael Strahan. Seacrest announced in February that he would leave the show after six seasons. At the time, Seacrest said he planned to move back to the West Coast (“Live” airs from New York City) and continue his duties hosting “Idol” and “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.”
Ripa shared in an interview that her last show with Seacrest, taped in April, was emotional. Backstage prior to taping, the cohosts couldn’t keep the tears from coming.
“We were backstage waiting for Déjà (Vu Parker) to make the final announcement, and I looked at him, and we just locked eyes,” Ripa said. “And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! This sucks!’ And then we both started crying, and I was like, ‘No! No! We are not crying before we get out there. It’s going to be a disaster!'”
This is… ‘American Idol’
When the singing competition debuted in 2002, Seacrest hosted the series, then on Fox, with Brian Dunkleman. “I remember after that first season, we were just crossing our fingers we would get a pickup for a second season,” Seacrest said on “Good Morning America” in March. For the show’s sophomore season, Dunkleman was fired, and Seacrest served as the sole “Idol” host.
The series, which made stars out of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson, aired on Fox for 15 seasons, concluding in 2016. Seacrest returned to his hosting duties when ABC revived “Idol” in 2018.
Ringing in ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest’
Seacrest first joined Dick Clark to usher in the New Year on ABC in 2005. After Clark’s death in 2012, Seacrest rang in 2013 as the show’s sole host.
Seacrest said in an announcement extending his ‘Rockin’ Eve’ deal in 2013 that he will “forever be both sentimental and grateful” about the show, and looks forward to carrying on “Dick’s vision” to create “new traditions and fun moments that only live television can deliver.”
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2020, Seacrest told USA TODAY that the show would reflect the poignancy of the year. “I know we’re always standing there and talking on the air about things getting better and peace and unity and happiness and hopefulness, but I don’t think those words have carried as much weight ever before.”
Ryan Seacrest named hostof ‘Wheel of Fortune’ after Pat Sajak retires
All that and radio too: ‘On Air with Ryan Seacrest,’ ‘American Top 40’
Seacrest has hosted his radio program, “On Air with Ryan Seacrest,” since 2004. The show airs on Los Angeles’ KIIS-FM and is syndicated throughout the country. Also in 2004, Seacrest took over “American Top 40” from famed disc jockey Casey Kasem.
“The benefit of radio is I can do it remotely,” Seacrest told Variety in an interview published in April. “I will be able to jump out of bed, slip into my Uggs, make my coffee and be on the radio.”
Replacing Pat Sajak on ‘Wheel of Fortune’
Seacrest shared his excitement Tuesday with a statement posted to Instagram, saying he felt “truly humbled” to fill Sajak’s shoes.
“I can say, along with the rest of America, that it’s been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and (cohost) Vanna (White) on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at home with them,” Seacrest expressed. “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.”
Seacrest added: “I can’t wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White.”
Contributing: Kelly Lawler and Ann Oldenburg
Pat Sajak announces‘Wheel of Fortune’ retirement after 40 years: ‘The time has come’
