Now, Ryan’s time to shine is finally here, with the premiere of Season 42 on Monday, September 9.
Millions of viewers will decide how Ryan will be as host alongside TV royalty Vanna.
However, a top-level Sony source shared that Ryan didn’t get much help for the big gig in a mentor-mentee relationship with Pat.
‘DID NOT WANT TENSION’
“Ryan wasn’t Pat’s choice to replace him and Pat deliberately stayed out of that process,” they said.
“Ryan was extremely smart when he took the job to be utterly respectful to Pat at every turn.
“Ryan did not want there to be even an ounce of tension between them.
“Ryan acts like he has Pat’s support and for now, that helps him [Ryan] enjoy this honeymoon period, where the fans are going to decide if he’s a good fit for the show.”
“But it could certainly be a different story a year from now, especially if there’s erosion in the ratings.”
Hard work pays off; according to Celebrity Net Worth, Ryan’s worth a fortune of $450 million
“You’ve set the standard for hosts everywhere, and this marks the end of an era.”
However, the pair has spent limited time on-set together even as Pat filmed one last season of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune to fulfill his contract, which airs this fall.
Other than a brief commercial spot where Pat told Ryan you’ll “never find a better job or co-host,” they haven’t overlapped much.
Pat also penned a statement on Friday, September 6, bidding his “goodbye” to fans, but did not mention Ryan in his message.
The source did not share who Pat had in mind for his replacement, though many fans have backed his daughter, Maggie Sajak, who is currently a social media correspondent.
Pat is keeping a watchful eye on the transition as a consulting producer for the next three years.
‘CAREFUL’ AROUND VANNA
Meanwhile, there have been burning questions about Ryan’s and Vanna’s chemistry , given that she’s only ever hosted with her great pal Pat.
Vanna has admitted she strongly considered retiring as well but ultimately extended her contract for two years after Pat’s retirement announcement.
“Ryan and Vanna have known each other casually for years,” the source continued.
“And at the moment, when Ryan has only really completed a handful of taping days, Vanna is his most important ally on the show, and they are both bending over backward to get along and get through this transition without any speed bumps.”
The source added that since Ryan is so busy, he hasn’t spent enough time on set to rub anyone the wrong way.
“But the flip side of that is that Ryan isn’t really around enough to step on anybody’s toes, including Vanna.
“It’s a very ‘plug-and-play’ arrangement for Ryan in the sense that when he shows up for the tapings, everything is laid out for him and he is able to improvise pretty smoothly over the written material.
“But when the tapings are wrapped, Ryan is out of there and not lingering around or second-guessing his choices on camera.
Ryan isn’t really around enough to step on anybody’s toes, including Vanna. when the tapings are wrapped, Ryan is out of there.
The U.S. Sun source
“Because of her status as a veteran of the ‘Wheel’ universe, Vanna still has a lot of ownership over the show and its whole vibe, and when Ryan is taping, he’s been careful to follow her lead and of course, his mantra from day one has been to put the contestants above everything else.
“So far, he and Vanna are managing that process, but there’s really only been about eight weeks of production on this new version of the show so far.
“Let’s see where they are a year from now!”
HIS OWN SPIN
While there are also doubts from fans that Ryan will live up to Pat, he’s shown early signs he’s taking the role very seriously.
The New York Times report ed that, unlike Pat, Ryan doesn’t use cue cards during his contestant intros and has memorized everything for the interview segments—he also doesn’t need a teleprompter.
Ryan has enough other gigs getting paid outrageous dollars. Share the wealth, hire people that need a job and that need money. That is the problem with our world, the rich just keep wanting more and more if the wealth. Quit supporting them!
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.