It’s a pretty big day in TV Land, and no, I’m not talking about the fact that Urkel is back hosting a game show, THE FLIP SIDE, for the first time since the long-forgotten Syfy effort of 2012-13, TOTAL BLACKOUT. I do know many of my readers are actually paying attention to that as well as that other big story in that circle. The one that actual millions of viewers on broadcast stations have been eagerly awaiting all summer long.
Tonight, Ryan Seacrest officially begins his tenure as the emcee of WHEEL OF FORTUNE with far more fanfare than his predecessor did when he very quietly took over the then six-year-old NBC daytime entry that had narrowly escaped cancellation 18 months earlier. After a contract dispute with creator and executive producer Merv Griffin showed original host Chuck Woolery the door, Pat Sajak, the weatherman for the NBC O and O in Los Angeles and a personality that had impressed Griffin in several pilots and run-throughs he had hosted for the then last-place network, got the big and wound up riding the show’s amazing rise in popularity and its expansion into a separate prime access slot for 42 1/2 years until he stepped down from the five-day-a-week gig this past June.
Seacrest is anything but obscure, having fronted AMERICAN IDOL for more than two decades, and adding as much to his plate as anyone currently active in media. He has taken the model set by his mentor and idol, Dick Clark, and supplements his competition hosting with a regular radio stint and indeed has succeeded Clark on the NEW YEAR’S ROCKIN’ EVE institution he built. He’s even hosted a couple of long-forgotten game shows of his own in the past, including one as a teenager for Griffin called CLICK! and NBC’s overly ambitious live prime time MILLION SECOND QUIZ. So there’s little question in my mind that he will be more than adequate stepping into this role, and from all reports of the many folks I know who have already seen his first tapings, my assumption has been vindicated.
But since there are plenty of folks who aren’t quite as connected or detail-oriented, it didn’t hurt for FOX NEWS’ Tracy Wright to reassure the show’s fan base that at least one pundit who falls into that category is just as convinced as you and I are:
Brand expert Eric Schiffer exclusively told Fox News Digital that “Wheel” viewers are in good hands with Seacrest and his media mastermind. “Many people are asking, ‘Can he pull it off? Will he tank it? Will he turn off audiences?’” Schiffer said. “Ryan has a sixth sense of how to make adjustments, and the adjustment here is toning down the energy until he builds audience trust. Then, I believe he can use some of the techniques mastered on ‘Idol’ to increase engagement and grow the audience.
“I can’t see how he would fail unless he just can’t get out of his own way, but this is not someone with an ego run amok where he would crash and burn because he wants his personality to dominate over what has been the formula to success – this low-key, comfortable, predictable show that is not dominated by anyone other than the players in the game.”
Funny, I was saying pretty much the same thing back in April.
And that was sort of a doubling down from my first thoughts last June when Seacrest’s anointing was announced.
He’s entering this assignment with far more experience and support than Drew Carey did when he took over a similarly established game show franchise, THE PRICE IS RIGHT, from Bob Barker in 2007. He’s about to start his 18th season at the helm of a show that’s still the standard-bearer in daytime ratings. And he’s far more experienced than Ken Jennings was when he first stepped onto WHEEL’s sister soundstage as the host of a show he has appeared on as a contestant on 80-ish previous occasions, and managed to survive what was in hindsight a thoroughly needless gauntlet of alternative host tryouts.
What is unique about this particular gig is that, even after all the hubbub and hype surrounding Sajak’s departure, one that played itself out throughout the show’s 2023-24 season, it turns out hasn’t quite fully left the building.
In an example of overcautiousness that to me defies explanation, Sajak is returning in prime time for a “final spin” on the show’s surging CELEBRITY version next month. Tapings for that, on the newly restyled set that was rejiggered to give the show a freshness to align with its new Gen X host, began last week and many of the folks who had found their way into Seacrest’s first batch have privately assured me that, freed from the degree of commitment that 195 original episodes a year come with, Sajak’s as good as he’s been in years.
And this past weekend, as CNN’s Alli Rosenbloom reported yesterday, Emmy voters concurred:
Pat Sajak is taking home a shiny keepsake to remember his final season as the host of “Wheel of Fortune.”
Sajak, who retired as the host of the long-running ABC game show in June after over 40 years, won an Emmy for outstanding host for a game show during the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony on Saturday.
He beat out Steve Harvey for “Celebrity Feud,” Ken Jennings for “Jeopardy!”, Keke Palmer for “Password” and Jane Lynch for “Weakest Link.” Sajak was not present to accept the award.
The last time Sajak was recognized by the Television Academy for his work as the host of “Wheel” was in 1998 when he won a Daytime Emmy. He previously won Daytime Emmys in 1993 and 1997 and was honored with a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. He has earned a total of 25 nominations throughout his career.
And it sure looks like Vanna White is equally as comfortable with both of them.
And fan bases being what they are, there will be inevitable comparisons between them. All indications are that Seacrest should be getting the primetime gig in subsequent seasons assuming ratings stay as buoyant as they are. But if the public forum somehow tilts toward the incumbent, as is often the case when change occurs, who knows if we are indeed seeing the absolute last of Sajak this fall?
Personally, I’m hoping that after today any need for comparison and contrast will be needless. Even though as a DIRECTV subscriber in a city with an ABC-owned station, I’m going to have to wait a while to judge for myself. I’m willing to trust the judgements of others, but I’m aware a lot more of y’all may not be quite as willing to do.
But since I’ve written about Seacrest and all of this quite a bit already, I promise that I won’t devote another one of these musings to that discussion. When it comes to giving him that much space, in this case, I’M out.
Until next time…