Vanna White has extended her contract on “Wheel of Fortune” by two years as the show begins its farewell season with longtime host Pat Sajak.
White has inked a contract extension that keeps her revealing letters on the durable syndicated game show through the 2025-26 TV season. Sajak announced earlier this year his plan to retire after Season 41, which began this week. Ryan Seacrest, late of “American Idol” and “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” is on deck to succeed Sajak as host starting with the 2024-25 season.
“Wheel of Fortune” and its companion “Jeopardy,” both of which are produced by Sony Pictures Television and distributed by CBS Media Ventures, have been mainstays of early evening television in the U.S. since the mid-1980s.
In other changes for the show, longtime “Wheel” director Robert Ennis has retired, handing the reins to Alex Van Wagner. Van Wagner’s credits include ABC’s “Shark Tank” and “Holey Moley,” NBC’s “The Voice” and NBCUniversal’s syndicated daytime talker “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
Maggie Sajak, daughter of Pat Sajak, will expand her role as the show’s social media correspondent in the coming year. She will hit the road for a recurring “Fan Fridays” segment that will feature the younger Sajak touring such spots as Newport, R.I., Portland, Maine, New York City and numerous stops in Europe, in keeping with the show’s partnership with guided tour firm Collette.
Season 41 will focus on Pat Sajak’s farewell tour after an astonishingly long tenure for a TV game show host. The show is also planning theme weeks around holidays such as Halloween and interest groups such as veterans and teachers.