LOS ANGELES — The category? “Proper Name.” The answer? Ryan Seacrest, who will become the new “Wheel of Fortune” host after Pat Sajak’s retirement next year.
Seacrest and Sony Pictures Television announced Tuesday that Seacrest has signed a multiyear deal to host the long-running game show starting with Season 42. Sajak recently announced the upcoming 41st season would be his last on the show.
It’s the latest hosting gig for Seacrest, the popular “American Idol” host who also now rings in the new year for many on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.”
“I’m truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak,” Seacrest said in a statement. “I can say, along with the rest of America, that it’s been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at home with them.”
Seacrest in his statement also praised Vanna White, another mainstay of “Wheel of Fortune.” Both White and Sajak have been on the show since the early 1980s.
