‘Wheel of Fortune’: Ryan Seacrest Delivers Message to Fans in First Episode as Host

Ryan Seacrest made his Wheel of Fortune hosting debut Monday night. As he joined long-time presenter Vanna White for the Season 42 premiere, Seacrest welcomed in the beginning of a new era following Pat Sajak’s retirement this past June with a brief monologue to the audience, reflecting on landing what he called his “dream job.”

Before Seacrest launched into his speech, the episode began with announcer Jim Thornton saying, “And now together for the first time, here are the stars of our show, Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White,” as the pair stepped onto Wheel‘s brand-new set. White then welcomed Seacrest “to the show,” the new host sharing that he was “so happy to be here” before he addressed the audience with a heartfelt speech.

“Welcome to Wheel of Fortune. I am your host, Ryan Seacrest,” he announced. “I still can’t believe my luck being here with you tonight to continue this legacy of this incredible show with all of you, and of course, my good friend Vanna White.”

After thanking Thornton, White, and the audience for the very warm welcome, Seacrest, who taped the first episode of syndicated version in July, said “hosting Wheel of Fortune is a dream job. I’ve been a fan of this show since I was a kid, watching it in Atlanta with my family, and I know how special it is that Wheel has been in your living rooms for the past 40 years. And I’m just so grateful to be invited in. I also know I’ve got some very big shoes to fill. So let’s play Wheel of Fortune.”

After his speech, it was business as usual as Seacrest’s first round of contestants – Corina from Denver, Cindy from Lake Tahoe, and Terry from North Carolina, who ended the night with a total of $25,849 and two trips – battled it out behind the wheel. In a fitting turn of events, the first puzzle of the night came with the clue “Show Biz.” The two-word, 12-letter answer was “Opening Night,” with Seacrest joking, “certainly feels that way over here.”

Asked by White at the end of the episode how he felt with his first game under his belt, Seacrest said, “I feel like we did one! What was great was everyone got to walk away with some money. I was really hoping that would happen on my first night.”

Seacrest was announced as Wheel of Fortune‘s new host in June 2023 following Sajak’s announcement that he would be retiring after more than 40 years. At the time, Seacrest said he was “truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak” and couldn’t “wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel.” Speaking at an event with White promoting the new season, per The Washington Post, Seacrest sad he was “impressed with how close the family is that works on Wheel of Fortune, the production team that puts it together. It’s a lot of people,” something that he said was “special.”

Fans can catch more of Seacrest when new episodes of Wheel of Fortune air weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on ABC. They can get another glimpse of Sajak when the long-time host returns to the screen for Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, which was taped before his retirement, Monday, Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.