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Pat Sajak, who has hosted the hit recreation present Wheel of Fortune since Ronald Reagan was president, will retire subsequent yr.
“Nicely, the time has come,” Sajak stated Monday in a press release to Bloomberg Information. “I’ve determined that our forty first season, which begins in September, can be my final. It’s been a beautiful trip, and I’ll have extra to say within the coming months. Many due to you all.”
Wheel of Fortune is a fixture on native TV stations throughout the nation, routinely rating as one of many most-watched reveals exterior of prime time. Within the week of Could 28, the present attracted 7.72 million viewers, second solely to Jeopardy! amongst reveals that air in syndication.
Sajak, 76, was employed as host in 1981 by present creator Merv Griffin. This system’s present proprietor, Sony Group Corp., has fielded inquiries from candidates searching for to interchange him however hasn’t settled on one.
“Pat has entertained tens of millions of viewers throughout America for 40 superb years,” Suzanne Prete, govt vice chairman for recreation reveals at Sony Footage Tv, stated in a press release. “We’re extremely grateful and proud to have had Pat as our host for all these years and we sit up for celebrating his excellent profession all through the upcoming season.”
The studio declined to touch upon plans for longtime co-host Vanna White, who has been turning the letters for contestants since 1982. Sajak has agreed to function a advisor on the present for 3 years following his final yr of internet hosting, Sony stated.
Wheel of Fortune, a variation of hangman the place contestants attempt to guess a time period or phrase after spinning a wheel that determines their prize cash, was created by Griffin in 1975. It’s spawned spinoffs, corresponding to Movie star Wheel of Fortune, and merchandise, together with one of the standard slot machines in historical past.
Sony needs to handle the transition higher than it did for Jeopardy!, one other standard recreation present.
After dying of longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek in 2020, the studio changed him with the present’s producer Mike Richards. He stepped down simply a short while later after the web site the Ringer reported on sexist feedback he made on a podcast years earlier.
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