Why Wheel of Fortune Cements Ryan Seacrest’s Status as the GOAT of Hosts

Is soon-to-be Wheel of Fortune host Ryan Seacrest the next game show superstar in the making? His success in television and radio to date suggests he very well could be.

After Pat Sajak shared his retirement plans earlier this month, Sony Picture Studios announced Tuesday that Seacrest will replace the longtime host at the helm of the popular hangman-style game starting in 2024. “I’m truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak,” Seacrest said in a statement on Twitter and Instagram. “Pat, I love the way you’ve always celebrated the contestants and made viewers at home feel at ease. I look forward to learning everything I can from you during this transition.”

Seacrest is best known as the host of the reality singing competition American Idol, but the 48-year-old has become one of the most sought-after voices in media. This isn’t even the first time he’s taking over a role already made famous by an established star. Here are some of the reasons why Seacrest makes total sense as the new face of Wheel—and is already among the best hosts of his generation.

He’s filled the seats of other legends

Replacing Sajak, who earned a Guinness World Record for his lengthy tenure on Wheel, is a major brag in itself. However, Seacrest can already say he’s followed in the path of three additional superstars with his TV and radio roles:

• Casey Kasem, the popular DJ who began hosting the weekly American Top 40 music countdown in July 1970. Known for his on-air sincerity and authority when it came to music trivia, Kasem, who died in June 2014, hosted the program through 1988 and during another six-year stretch starting in 1998. Seacrest took over the microphone for good in 2004.

• Regis Philbin, who served as co-host with Kathie Lee Gifford and then Kelly Ripa on the Live morning program. Philbin retired from the talk show in 2011. Seacrest followed former NFL player Michael Strahan in assuming Philbin’s chair in 2017 and held it through April 2023. Philbin died in July 2020.

• Dick Clark, who first hosted the annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve celebration in 1973 and appeared in a limited capacity following a stroke suffered in 2004. Seacrest began serving as the primary host in 2005 alongside Clark, who died in April 2012.

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He’s conquered multiple formats

While Seacrest has received seven Emmy nominations solely for his hosting duties on American Idol, his track record of success goes far beyond reality TV.

Through Live With Kelly & Ryan, Seacrest regularly interviewed some of the biggest names in acting, music, and sports in an informal setting, letting them carry the conversation. “I found a relaxed, slowed-down version of myself on the air,” he told Variety of his tenure on the show. “I’ve become more comfortable letting things just happen without thinking about what has to come next. Because it can really go in any direction.”

But thanks to his radio background—Seacrest worked on air while attending the University of Georgia and had a popular afternoon show in Los Angeles before gaining widespread fame—he’s better equipped to fill silence than most.

Seacrest does have prior game show experience, though not with a program of Wheel of Fortune’s stature. Late producer Merv Griffin, the creator of Wheel, saw talent in the Georgia native and hired him to host the children’s quiz show Click in the late ’90s.

He’s continued to learn

Just as he promises to heed Sajak’s wisdom during his transition as Wheel host, Seacrest has repeatedly sought advice from colleagues and applied it to his own career.

In a 2012 essay in The Hollywood Reporter, for example, Seacrest shared a list of five things he took away from working with Clark. They ranged from simply being nice and building a great team to never quitting in the face of adversity. “Dick faced some enormous challenges after his stroke. And despite facing public criticism for fighting through those challenges on-air, he refused to quit what he loved doing most,” Seacrest wrote. “If only more of us remembered the strength and grace generated from sticking to your guns. I hope I will have the courage to always stick to mine.”

Seacrest told The New York Times Style Magazine in 2009 that late cable news and radio host Larry King was another of his mentors and that he aspired to develop Griffin’s entrepreneurial drive. “[Griffin] was likable and accessible and smart and funny and charming, but he would also leverage that to build assets so he wouldn’t have to work every single hour of every single day to have a return,” Seacrest said.

Griffin, who died in 2007, would likely be proud to see Seacrest on the verge of hosting one of his most popular creations.

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