How Ryan Seacrest Plans to Celebrate 50th Anniversary of ‘Wheel of Fortune’

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Ryan Seacrest is looking ahead at Wheel of Fortune‘s 50th anniversary.

Seacrest took over as host in September following Pat Sajak’s retirement. Speaking with Good Morning America at the 2024 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball in Los Angeles on Friday, December 6, the 49-year-old TV personality shared his plans for the momentous occasion.

“I plan to walk out and give away a lot of money to celebrate the 50 years. Hopefully we give away a million dollars. I want that million dollar wedge to make it to the end so somebody gets to win that,” he said.

He explained that’s one of his favorite parts of the hosting job, gushing that he was “surprised” by how “genuinely excited” he gets every time someone wins on the show.

“I knew I’d be excited, but I love it when someone wins a big amount of money or a car, and it’s just a life-changing half hour for people,” the American Idol host told GMA.

Prior to Seacrest stepping in as host, Sajak helmed the popular game show for 41 years. He announced his retirement in June 2023, and hosted his last show on June 7 the following year.

However, Sajak will be returning to host one final season of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune in 2025, after one special holiday episode aired on December 2. The rest of the season has been pushed so ABC can prioritize Monday Night Football.

Keeping that legacy in mind, Seacrest had one more thing to say about his plans for the 50th anniversary. “But just the fact that it’s been a part of my life and so many people’s lives for so long, is special. With great memories thinking about Wheel of Fortune growing up, and I want to create more great memories as it goes forward,” he said.

Though fan reactions have been up and down since Seacrest took over, many recently came to his defense following a post on the Wheel of Fortune subreddit that made a jab at the star’s height. “People find the weirdest reasons to hate on Ryan…. I guess that means he’s doing a good job if this is the complaint you have,” one person commented.

The new host’s numbers speak for themselves, with Wheel of Fortune averaging 7.99 million viewers during Seacrest’s first month. Per the data, more people watched Wheel of Fortune than any other program on traditional television (rather than streaming) that month. His debut was also the most-watched Wheel of Fortune season premiere in nine years.