‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Rate Ryan Seacrest & Say He Is Turning Show Into ‘Jeopardy!’
Ryan Seacrest has officially banked two full months at Wheel of Fortune, stepping into the big shoes of Pat Sajak alongside Vanna White since making his debut September 9. Now that his hosting era is in full swing, fans felt ready to share how they really think he’s doing as the host.
On Monday (November 11), a fan took to the WoF Reddit forum to ask that very question. “Thoughts on the new Wheel of Fortune with Ryan Seacrest?” the fan titled the post. “For me personally, it’s decent and watchable enough. But I’m not really a big fan of the new designs and graphics in the show,” they added.
One of the top commenters pointed out that Seacrest’s contestant interviews, for which he doesn’t use cue cards like his puzzle-presenting predecessor, make the show seem less “stale.” They said the interviews are more in the style of Jeopardy!, where his peer Ken Jennings similarly takes one tidbit and volleys with the contestants off the cuff.
“I personally love the new set and I’m enjoying his banter with the contestants which was previously stale compared to Jeopardy!. Getting Vanna more involved is pretty cool too,” they wrote.
The consensus from other fans in the replies shared they are getting used to Seacrest (and the new set), even if the “new school” version of WoF is a big change.
“He’s a capable host so he’s doing fine. But of course it isn’t the same. People like Pat, or Alex on Jeopardy, or even Barker on TPIR have that old school charm, wit, and charisma that newer generation hosts don’t have. The old guard have a natural ease about them,” a third wrote. “Someone commented earlier they felt Ryan was fake. I don’t think he’s fake, but he’s media trained to follow things by the book. That’s why it comes off as fake.”
“Doing good so far,” a fourth simply wrote.
“Agreed. Perfectly serviceable from the start and will only find his style as he gets more games under him,” wrote a fifth.
“Ryan can host paint drying and it would be entertaining,” wrote a sixth. “That’s just Ryan. But honestly, it feels like a whole different show. It’s hard to explain. It’s the same format just with another host. But it doesn’t feel like ‘Wheel of Fortune’.”
A seventh wasn’t so won over, “I do not like Seacrest. Granted, I’ve watched less than 10 episodes of his version, but he’s constantly forgetting the minor rules and genuinely does not seem to be comfortable hosting a game show. Not helping is that I LOATHE the set re-design. They even brought back the border for the puzzle board and still made me dislike it.”
“I’m enjoying it. Im not a fan of the new split screen though,” wrote an eighth.
“The hosting transition was magnitudes better than Jeopardy!” one more surmised, referring to the infamous four-year host hunt to replace Alex Trebek, scoring 36 upvotes in the forum.
Meanwhile, there’s no question Seacrest’s replacing Sajak after four decades has brought renewed interest. His debut month was the strongest ratings month for WoF in the past three years. That said, there have been some questionable on-air moments.
In September, Seacrest suffered what fans dubbed his “first blooper”, involving a delayed reaction to rewarding a bonus round. Fans also called out the host for ruling against another player before the timer was up. There have been a few on-screen “glitches,” and some let-down trip destinations (Salem, Massachusetts?). Seacrest has also been called out for being more lenient on pronunciation rulings than Sajak was in recent weeks, last week allowing a blatantly botched take on a Texas town.
What do you think of Ryan Seacrest as Wheel of Fortune host? Let us know in the comments section below!
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