Sony Pictures Television announced on Wednesday that it has inked a deal with Pat Sajak and Vanna White to host Wheel of Fortune through the 2023-2024 season, according to Deadline.
However, while the popular game show, which is heading into its 39th season, has locked in its longtime hosts, other features of the show are about to change.
Most notably, Sajak will no longer do the ‘final spin’ of the game. Instead, the contestant in control of the wheel at the time will spin to determine the amount each consonant is worth during the speed-up round.
“If you think about it, by doing the ‘final spin’ I, as host, had an impact on the outcome of the game and that has always bothered me because it just didn’t feel right,” said Sajak in a statement obtained by Deadline. “With this change, only the contestants determine the outcome of the game and the host does not impose themself in any way.”
Additionally, the show’s set will receive a facelift, and its theme song, “Changing Keys,” will get a modernized arrangement.
More money will also be up for grabs, too, with the “Free Play” wedge being removed from the Wheel and replaced by an $850 wedge. Also, a $4,000 bonus will be awarded to contestants who solve all three puzzles in the Triple Toss-Up Round, making the round worth $10,000.
Finally, the minimum amount that can be won on the Bonus Wheel has been upped to $39,000, in honor of the show’s 39th season in syndication.
Incidentally, Jason Alexander, wrestler and upcoming DWTS hoofer Michael “The Miz” Mizanin and Cheryl Burke will join Pat and Vanna when Celebrity Wheel of Fortune returns on its new night, Sunday, September 26 at 8 a.m. on ABC.
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