The New York Times has reported that American Idol and American Top 40 host Ryan Seacrest will be taking on yet another hosting job as the replacement for Pat Sajak on Wheel of Fortune beginning in 2024. The news that Seacrest, who also co-hosted Live with Kelly and Ryan and New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, will be hosting yet another show inspired reactions online, including various types of frustration.
More Seacrest?
Some game show fans questioned whether or not there are any shows that Seacrest doesn’t host.
Is there anything this guy doesn't host?
— 🍬Sweet Teeth🦷 (@ElegantSquatch) June 27, 2023
Marvel fans reacted to the news by comparing the host’s commitment to hosting as many shows as possible to Thanos’s mission to collect the “Infinity Stones.”
He collects classic hosting gigs like they are Infinity Stones.
— ⚜️Saints2Death⚜️ (@Saints2death) June 27, 2023
Ryan Seacrest taking over yet another iconic show https://t.co/RuPeqA8Dxd pic.twitter.com/kvRymXyXLu
— Kyle Dodson 🐀 (@KyleDodsonFunny) June 27, 2023
Let Other People Work
Some fans of the show went so far as to say the decision was a mistake and argued that new hosts should be able to come onto the long-running game show so that audiences could grow with them over the years as fans did with Sajak.
How come they can't find some new talent that we can grow with? This is a terrible idea https://t.co/PkVl2BJxLh
— ♈ Aries Empress ♈ (@ebonielon) June 27, 2023
Others expressed frustration and disappointment about the decision when there are people of color who are just as qualified as Seacrest to take on the job.
Nick Cannon and Steve Harvey: https://t.co/sj0eAWqFMQ pic.twitter.com/3AvUx7ne6a
— Adam Whorelock (@Keepn_It_Rell) June 27, 2023
Alfonso Ribeiro was RIGHT THERE.
— Meh (@idontcare8273) June 27, 2023
Let Vanna White Host
Unsurprisingly, some long-time viewers of the show felt that Vanna White, who has co-hosted the show with Sajak in a supporting capacity for more than forty (40!) years, should have been tapped to take over as primary host.
Justice for Vanna! https://t.co/LwmgwkQWoC
— Rich Grasso (@richgrasso) June 27, 2023
Vanna White was right there, folks.
— Sam Holdren (@SamHoldren1) June 27, 2023
He’s a Good Host
While many fans weren’t happy about the news, some expressed that Seacrest is a talented host who, they think, will be able to do a great job as host of the iconic game show.
Honestly, a perfect choice. He has Dick Clark-style command and that affable but sly Sajak-ian humor. No one in the history of television has made the complex job of hosting look as easy as Ryan Seacrest does. And Merv Griffin himself said he’d be a huge star. A CONSONANT pro! https://t.co/O7kHMii3Zg
— Louis Virtel (@louisvirtel) June 27, 2023
One even went so far as to call Seacrest “a legend.”
This guy's a legend in the hosting community https://t.co/JiwpSzBmmO
— josh 'Letterman' (oldfriend99) (@oldfriend99) June 27, 2023
Only time will tell how well Seacrest will do as host, but there’s no denying his track record, even if it is already long enough.
Kyle Logan is a film and television critic and general pop culture writer who has written for Alternative Press, Cultured Vultures, Film Stories, Looper, and more. Kyle is particularly interested in horror and animation, as well as genre films written and directed by queer people and women. Along with writing, Kyle organizes a Queer Film Challenge on Letterboxd.