Wheel of Fortune Host Ryan Seacrest Teases ‘Souped Up’ Prizes in Debut

Ryan Seacrest is ready to spin the wheel — and take over Pat Sajak’s hosting duties — with the season 42 premiere of Wheel of Fortune.

“We’ll have some special surprises and maybe some souped up cash giveaways for the premiere week,” Seacrest, 49, exclusively told Us Weekly at the Wheel of Fortune Ferris Wheel Lighting in Santa Monica, California, last month, insisting, “Wheel of Fortune will be Wheel of Fortune.”

Seacrest joked viewers “can expect” him to be hosting, which is a big shift after Sajak, 77, ran the game show for 40 plus years, claiming that “not much else has changed” this season.

“The show is so well known for what it is, what it does and how it makes people feel, that nothing really changes,” he shared, revealing, “I think Vanna [White] has maybe a new carpet or something under her puzzle board.”

White, 67, confirmed that there is “fresh carpet” for season 42, but fans will be getting the show they’ve known and loved for decades.

“We do have a new set, but it’s just an updated set,” she told Us. “You’re not going to feel like it’s a new show at all. You know, the puzzle board is still there, the wheel is still there. It’s gonna be a nice little remodel.”

Seacrest teased that the set refresh wasn’t the only thing he had to get used to as the show’s new host. He told Us that the iconic wheel that contestants spin every episode wasn’t what he expected when he got his hands on it.

“To me, the wheel was heavier than I thought it was going to be,” Seacrest revealed. “I see contestants, you know, that walk up there and they can really throw that wheel around. I’m pretty impressed by it. Sometimes I almost want to comment about it while I’m hosting the show.”

He confessed that when he tried to spin it, he only got “six wedges” which didn’t sit well with him. “It didn’t really spin halfway around,” Seacrest told Us.

Seacrest’s Wheel of Fortune debut on Monday, September 9, marks the beginning of a new era for the game show. Sajak announced in June 2023 that season 41 of the series would be his last after more than four decades at the helm. His final episode aired on June 7. (Sajak was the second host of Wheel of Fortune, taking over in 1981 after the original emcee Chuck Woolery stepped down.)

“It’s been an incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes night after night, year after year, decade after decade,” Sajak told the audience on his farewell show. “And I’ve always felt that the privilege came with a responsibility to keep this daily half-hour a safe place for family fun. No social issues, no politics, nothing embarrassing, I hope. Just a game.”

Throughout nearly all of Sajak’s run on Wheel of Fortune, White was by his side turning the letters on the giant board and traveling to the series’ fun locations.

White joined the show in 1982 and in September 2023, she signed a new two-year contract to work alongside Seacrest through the 2025-2026 season.

“In the past couple of months, we’ve done some traveling together for the show and we got to know each other a little better too, so I think our chemistry is good,” White said of Seacrest during an appearance on CBS Sunday Mornings earlier this month.

Wheel of Fortune season 42 premieres on ABC Monday, September 9, at 7:30 p.m. ET.

With reporting by Mariel Turner