Wheel of Fortunehas experienced plenty of shakeups in the past few years. Longtime hostPat Sajakdeparted the popular game show on June 30, 2025, after 41 seasons, withRyan Seacreststepping in to fill his shoesas host for Season 42. But Sajak isn’t out of the hosting game yet: he’s set to co-host one final season ofCelebrity Wheel of Fortunewith fellowWheel of FortunealumVanna White. The guest list would include familiar faces likeJosh Gad,Rainn Wilson, andRandall Park, whileWheel of Fortunefans would get to watch the fan-favorite host one last time. But Celebrity Wheel of Fortune’s original air date of October 2024 was paused,due to a constantly shifting TV schedule. What could shake up Sajak’s final run as a game host? One word: Football.
ABC wound up movingCelebrity Wheel of Fortuneto 2025 toput the focus onMonday Night Football. The reason behind this focus is thatABC and the NFL have struck a two-year partnershipthat includes airing the Super Bowl LXI. Sporting events are a major draw for any network, so it makes sense that ABC would want to focus onMonday Night Footballand not interruptCelebrity Wheel of Fortune. The 2024 presidential election was also a factor in shiftingCelebrity Wheel of Fortuneto a midseason premiere.Celebrity Wheel of Fortunewould also end up impacting another network’s schedule, as the CW originally had game shows based onTrivial PursuitandScrabblethat were set to air on Mondays. Those shows ended up switching places withSuperman and Lois' final season, meaning thatCelebrity Wheel of Fortuneprobably won’t have any competition when it airs. That’s a good thing; if this truly is Sajak’s final time hostingWheel of Fortune, he’ll be able to do it without any interruptions hindering him.
The official airdate for this year’sCelebrity Wheel of Fortunehasn’t been revealed by ABC, but Sajak and Whiteco-hosted a special episode last December.To say fans were happy is an understatement;social media exploded with reactionsranging from joy to humor at Sajak’s return, and some fans even asked for Sajak to return to the mainWheel of Fortune. Sajak also madea tongue-in-cheek post on Twitterhighlighting his return: “Apparently I’m back on TV tonight. I guess I’d better shave and shower.”
Ryan Seacrest Is Finally Stepping Out of Pat Sajak’s ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Shadow
After a rocky start, Ryan is finally winning fans’ hearts, one spin at a time!
December’sCelebrity Wheel of Fortuneepisodefeatured all the elementsthat makeWheel of Fortunea comfort watch, including the dynamic between Sajak and White; Sajak even joked around with contestantsChance the Rapper,Dionne Warwick, andLil Jon. Though he’s hadhis fair share of ups and downs, Sajak was clearly in his element, and judging from the reaction to this single episodeCelebrityWheel of Fortunewon’t be lacking for viewers whenever it returns.
‘Wheel of Fortune’ and ‘Jeopardy’ Have Been Going Through Legal Troubles
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune’s hovering in broadcast limbo comes as both the regularWheel of FortuneandJeopardy!are at the center of a major lawsuit. Sony Pictures Televisionfiled a lawsuit against CBS last October, saying that CBS breached its contract by airing the shows in other countries. CBSlaunched its own countersuit, claiming that Sony was aiming to get distribution rights toWheel of FortuneandJeopardy. Things recently culminated with ajudge blocking Sony’s effortsto get the distribution rights, but between the ugly tug-of-war between CBS and Sony, alongside two former employeesfiling discrimination claims against Sony, there’s been some rocky times behind the scenes forWheel of Fortune.
Despite this,Celebrity Wheel of Fortuneis still slated to air this year. Whatever happens on that end,Celebrity Wheel of Fortune will mark the end of an era. Sajak didn’t just become the face ofWheel of Fortune, but he’s also set a world record forhaving the longest tenure as a game show host- beating the record once held by the late, greatBob Barker. He’s more than earned his victory lap, and it’s worth dealing with a few extra basketball games to see that happen. All that remains is for ABC to set a solid air date.Celebrity Wheel of Fortuneis available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
