Who wants to be a game show host? These days, you already have to be famous
Ryan Seacrest earned a plum gig this week, replacing the retiring Pat Sajak as host of “Wheel of Fortune.”
By DAVID BAUDER
Published - Jun 28, 2023, 10:33 AM ET
Last Updated - Jun 28, 2023, 10:33 AM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — When producers of “Wheel of Fortune” named Ryan Seacrest — probably the most ubiquitous man on entertainment television — as its next host this week, it surprised virtually no one.
The idea that Sony Pictures Television would appoint someone relatively unknown as the figurehead of one of its most valuable properties was far-fetched. But it wasn't always that way for a genre of television that minted such celebrities like late “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, Bob Barker of “The Price is Right” and current “Wheel of Fortune” emcee Pat Sajak.
With Sajak's impending retirement, after the show's next season, it's the end of an era: Game shows are now the provenance of the already famous.
WHY IS PAT SAJAK THE LAST OF HIS BREED?
