“And here are the stars of our show, Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White, together for the first time!”
With this introduction, a new TV chapter began for Seacrest on September 9th as host of Wheel of Fortune. The former co-host of Live! with Kelly and Ryan stood arm in arm with White as he told her, “I’m so happy to be here,” before taking his place on the newly redesigned set. (Gone is the Wheel of Fortune logo that was previously visible behind the participants; now there are golden, decorative representations of the Ferris wheel).
“Thank you for the warm welcome,” he said, looking into the camera. “Hosting Wheel of Fortune is a dream job. I’ve been a fan of this show since I was a kid and watched it with my family in Atlanta. I know how special it is that Wheel has been in your living rooms for 40 years. I’m just so grateful to have been invited. I also know I have big shoes to fill.”
Then he opened the game – just like Pat Sajak had done for 41 seasons.
In addition to his role as host, Seacrest will also serve as a consulting producer on the show. Sajak, who won an Emmy on Saturday as host for his final season of Wheel, has agreed to stay on as a consultant to the show for the next three years.
But judging by the first episode, Seacrest doesn’t seem to need any help. Not only did he handle the obligatory dialogue like “Let’s win some money for you” and “You can get a D,” but he also chatted with the three contestants without any problems and even gave the loser a big hug before sending her home with just $4,500.
Seacrest ended the show with White by saying, “We’ve had one (show)” and how happy he was that “everyone got to go home with some money. I was really hoping that would happen on my first night, and it happened.”
Bellamie Blackstone serves as executive producer of the game show.
