‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Divided Over Ryan Seacrest’s Hosting Debut and the Show’s New Set

Ryan Seacrest stepped into Pat Sajak’s shoes as the new host of Wheel of Fortune on Monday, September 9. Fans had a lot to say about his big season 42 debut and had a huge bone to pick about the game show’s new set.

Prior to the premiere episode with Ryan, 49, and costar Vanna White, the iconic Wheel of Fortune set got a bit of a makeover, lighting up the stage in blue hues and a new logo behind the contestants. The screen that Vanna, 67, has used throughout the seasons was replaced with a newer screen with motion sensor technology.

“All I need to do is keep it moving,” the letter-turner said on Good Morning America before the premiere. “All we need to do is have fun every night. I think if that’s what happens, this show continues for a long time.”

However, it seemed like there were a lot of people who felt like the new screen and set were just not pleasant to look at.

“Ryan Seacrest did a good job on his first day hosting #WheelOfFortune,” one person wrote on X after the premiere. “As for the set, it will take a while to adjust to it. If #Jeopardy can redesign their set every 5 or so seasons, why not Wheel?”

“Watching Ryan Seacrest’s #WheelOfFortune and find it funny how despite redesigning the whole set, they left the old green circle on the wheel itself,” a second viewer said.

“Ryan Seacrest will take some getting used to, but he did well and I like some of the visual modernizations,” another X user penned. “The only thing that rubbed me wrong was the ‘LG’ in the bonus puzzle. It felt a little shameless. And those are my Wheel of Fortune hot takes.”

Another X user said, “The new Wheel of Fortune set looks like a 12 year old who was hired and told to be a minimalist and winged it.”

One other interesting thing that many social media users pointed out was that Ryan “failed to mention Pat Sajak by name” during his Wheel of Fortune debut. Pat, 77, left the show after 41 seasons, marking his final episode of Wheel on June 7, leaving the door wide open for Ryan to step up to the plate.

“I am your host, Ryan Seacrest. I still can’t believe my luck of being here with you tonight to continue this legacy of this incredible show with all of you,” Ryan said after walking out onto the stage with Vanna. “And of course, my good friend Vanna White.”

“Ryan Seacrest is off to a rocky start on Wheel of Fortune 🥴 Not a single mention of the ICON @PatSajak?!” one person wrote on X, while another replied, “To be fair, on Pats last show, he didn’t mention Ryan Seacrest either.”

Others admitted that Ryan did a great job, much to their suprise, and brought the energy.

“I was not happy about Ryan Seacrest being Pat’s replacement but he did a great job!!! The set was a little loud,” one X user wrote, while another said, “I have to admit Ryan Seacrest is not bad on Wheel Of Fortune.”