Ryan Seacrest may be breathing new life into “Wheel of Fortune,” but he’s promising longtime fans that things will pretty much stay the same.
After successful stints commandeering “American Idol,” “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” and “Live with Kelly & Ryan,” the radio and TV personality will officially take over the mantle of the long-running game show when it returns for its 42nd season on Sept. 9.
Not trying to shake things up, he plans on following the same successful formula he’s used in the past: “Don’t make any changes, don’t touch it,” Seacrest said in a GMA interview on Tuesday.
“This show works,” he added. “All I need to do is keep it moving. All we need to do is have fun every night. And I think if that’s what happens, this show continues for a long time.”
In June 2023, the 49-year-old was announced as Pat Sajak’s replacement — weeks after the 77-year-old host revealed “the time has come” for him to resign from the position he’d held for more than four decades.
Seacrest shared Tuesday that Sajak and his longtime co-host Vanna White told him that “the best part is you’re gonna meet three new people every night, and they walk away with cash.”
However, White said the new season will add another update alongside the new host. The revamped set will include a new board where the legendary letter-turner said she won’t “even have to touch the letter anymore.”
For his final spin at the wheel, Sajak will return to the airwaves for “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” on Oct. 7.