Pat Sajak Leaving ‘Wheel of Fortune’ After 41 Years

After 41 years hosting the highly-rated game show “Wheel of Fortune”, Pat Sajak has announced that he would be leaving the show. In a post on Twitter, Sajak said the time has come and that next season would be his last.

Wheel of Fortune premiered in 1981 with host Chuck Woolery. Sajak and presenter Vanna White have hosted the show together since it was moved to primetime in 1983. The show has been a hit by every measure and is popular in syndication. The show has so many diehard fans, a 24/7/365 channel was unveiled in 2022. PlutoTV plays rerun episodes all day every day.

There are a lot of questions about what happens next. Who will host the show? In 2019, Vanna filled in as host during Saga's long absence due to a medical issue. Viewers apparently didn't like the change and it hasn't happened again. I don't think it's that she did a bad job, but it was just different.

What about Maggie Sajak?

Pat Sajak's daughter has had a growing role on the show in recent months. Maggie Sajak is the face of the show's digital product and appears in most episodes inviting viewers to "play along". I would bet she plays a big part in the next iteration of the show.

Wheel of Fortune airs in Lafayette on KATC-TV 3.