Alongside the late-Alex Trebek, no other gameshow host has become as synonymous with one show in the modern TV landscape as Pat Sajak has been with Wheel of Fortune. It is set to come to an end, though, as the host and Sony Pictures Television have announced when audiences can tune in to say goodbye to the longtime host.
It was confirmed that Sajak’s final episode as the host for Wheel of Fortune is set to air on June 7, bringing an end to his tenure that stretches back to 1981 according to Deadline. The farewell episode for Sajak as the host was filmed on Friday at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California, as part of the last batch of episode tapings for the gameshow’s 41st season.
Sajak’s longtime co-host is reportedly signed on with Wheel of Fortune through the 2025-2026 season, though it is not clear if she will also retire afterward.
Ryan Seacrest is slated to be taking over hosting duties for Sajak when the show heads back to studio to film its 42nd season. The former-American Idol and Live with Kelly and Ryan host will also be serving as a consulting producer on Wheel of Fortune going forward.
“I’m truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak,” Seacrest told The Guardian after he was announced as the new host. “I can say, along with the rest of America, that it’s been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at home with them.”
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Sajak’s career on Wheel of Fortune kicked off back in 1981 when he took over hosting duties for Wheel of Fortune’s daytime show from inaugural host Chuck Woolery, who hosted from 1975 to 1981. Sajak would also begin hosting the evening edition of the gameshow in 1983 before passing off hosting duties on the daytime show in 1989 to Rolf Benirschke, and shortly after him Bob Goen when the show moved from NBC to CBS that same year.
Over a 40-year career hosting Wheel of Fortune, he would surpass Bob Barker‘s record-setting 35-year tenure hosting The Price is Right before his respective retirement in 2015.
Sajak has plenty of awards and nominations to his name, as well, with 19 Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Game Show Host. He would take the award home three times in 1993, 1997, and 1998.
His tenure wasn’t without some interruptions, though, especially as Sajak got older.
In November 2019, the host was forced to undergo emergency intestinal surgery to remove a blockage that had formed. His co-host Vanna White would step in to host Wheel of Fortune while Sajak recovered until he made his return roughly a month later in December.
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