Main game

Wheel of Fortune is based on hangman. In each round, three players compete to be the first to guess the answer to a word puzzle.^[10] At the start of each round, the host reveals the category. In general, puzzles must be read exactly, except for crossword puzzles, which were added to the show in 2016. In such rounds, the host gives a clue linking the words; contestants may give the words in any order, so long as all words are given without repeating or adding any.^[11] The titular Wheel of Fortune is a roulette-style wheel with 24 wedges. Most are labeled with dollar amounts ranging from $500 to $900, with a top value in each round: $2,500 in round 1, $3,500 in rounds 2 and 3, and $5,000 for round 4 and any subsequent rounds. The wheel also features two Bankrupt wedges and one Lose a Turn wedge. Landing on either forfeits the contestant's turn, with the Bankrupt wedge also eliminating any cash or prizes the contestant has accumulated within the round.^[12]

Most matches consist of three contestants, although some variants feature three teams of two people each. Contestants in control spin the wheel to determine a dollar value, then guess a consonant.^{[lower-alpha 3]} Landing on a dollar amount and calling a correct consonant results in the hostess revealing every instance of that letter, also awarding the value of the spin multiplied by the number of times the letter appears in the puzzle.^[14] After a correct consonant, a contestant is able to spin again, buy a vowel for a flat rate of $250 (until no more remain in the puzzle), or attempt to solve the puzzle.^[12] Control passes to the next contestant clockwise if the contestant lands on Lose a Turn or Bankrupt, calls a letter not in the puzzle, calls a letter already called in that round, attempts unsuccessfully to solve the puzzle, or takes too much time to call a letter or decide on their next action.

Each game also features five toss-up puzzles, in which one random letter is revealed at a time; the first contestant to ring in with the right answer wins a cash bonus. The first, worth $1,000, determines the order of the pre-game interviews conducted by the host. The second, worth $2,000, determines who spins first in round one. The third through fifth, collectively the "Triple Toss-Up", take place prior to the fourth round. The Triple Toss-Up consists of three consecutive puzzles, each with the same category and a common theme. Solving any awards $2,000, while solving the third also earns the right to start the fourth round. Beginning in 2021, an additional $4,000 is awarded for a total of $10,000 if the same contestant solves all three.^[15] Contestants may only ring in once for each toss-up puzzle, and no cash is awarded if all three fail to solve; if this occurs, then the contestant closest to the host controls the next portion of the game. In addition to the toss-ups, each game has a minimum of four rounds, with more played if time permits.^[14] Rounds 2 and 3 are respectively started by the next two contestants clockwise from the contestant who began round 1.

In the first three rounds, the wheel also contains a Wild Card over a selected wedge. If this is claimed by calling a correct letter, the contestant may use it after a correct consonant to call a second consonant for the same value as the present spin, or take it to the bonus round. TThere is also a special wedge which offers a pre-determined prize, typically a trip or credit to a company. Both also offer $500 per correct letter. The first three rounds also contain a special wedge known as the "Million Dollar Wedge", in which, if won and taken to the bonus round, offers an opportunity to play for $1,000,000. A contestant must solve the puzzle in order to keep any cash, prizes, or extras accumulated during that round except for the Wild Card. Bankrupt does not affect score from previous rounds, but it takes away the Wild Card and/or the Million Dollar Wedge if either was claimed in a previous round. Contestants who solve a round for less than $1,000 in cash and prizes ($2,000 on weeks with two-contestant teams) have their scores increased to that amount.

Round 2 features two "Mystery Wedges". Calling a correct letter on one offers the chance to accept its face value of $1,000 per letter, or forfeit that to flip over the wedge and see whether its reverse side contains a $10,000 cash prize or Bankrupt. Once one is flipped over, the other becomes a standard $1,000 space and cannot be flipped. Round 3 is a Prize Puzzle, which offers a prize (usually a trip) to the contestant who solves. Since 2013, this round also has an "Express" wedge. A contestant who lands on this space and calls a correct consonant receives $1,000 per appearance. The contestant can then either "pass" and continue the round normally, or "play" and keep calling consonants for $1,000 each (without spinning) and buying vowels for $250. If the contestant calls an incorrect letter, runs out of time during the Express, or solves the puzzle incorrectly, it is treated as a Bankrupt.^[16]

The final round of every game is always played at least in part as a "speed-up". At this point, the contestant who is in control of the wheel spins one last time (known as the "final spin"). Prior to Season 39, the host performed the final spin.^{[lower-alpha 4]} When the final spin lands on a dollar amount, that amount has $1,000 added to create the value of a consonant for the rest of the game, and vowels are free. If the final spin lands on anything that is not a dollar amount, another one is performed until one lands on a dollar amount.^[17] The contestant in control calls a letter. If the letter appears in the puzzle, the hostess reveals all instances of the letter and the contestant has three seconds to attempt solving once the hostess moves to the side of the board. If the three-second time limit expires, control passes to the next contestant and gameplay continues in this fashion until the puzzle is solved.

After the speed-up round, the contestant with the highest total winnings wins the game and advances to the bonus round. Contestants who did not solve any puzzles are awarded a consolation prize of $1,000 (or $2,000 on weeks with two-contestant teams). If a tie for first place occurs after the speed-up, an additional toss-up puzzle is played between the tied contestants. The contestant who solves the toss-up puzzle wins $1,000 and advances to the bonus round.^[18]

Bonus round

Since 2017, the winning contestant chooses one of three puzzle categories before the round begins (prior to 2017, the category and puzzle were predetermined). After doing so, the contestant spins a smaller wheel with 24 envelopes to determine the prize. The puzzle is revealed, as is every instance of the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E. The contestant provides three more consonants and one more vowel, plus a fourth consonant if he or she has the Wild Card. After any instances of those letters are revealed, the contestant has 10 seconds to solve the puzzle; he or she may make multiple guesses, as long as the entire answer is started before time expires. Whether or not the contestant solves the puzzle, the host opens the envelope at the end of the round to reveal the prize at stake. Prizes in the bonus round include various cash amounts ranging from $40,000 to $100,000 as well as a vehicle.

If the contestant has the Million Dollar Wedge, the $100,000 envelope is replaced with a $1,000,000 envelope.^[19] The $1,000,000 prize has been awarded three times to contestants, and one time to a celebrity, for a total of four Million Dollar winners. It was won by Michelle Loewenstein (Regular version; October 14, 2008),^[20] Autumn Erhard (Regular version; May 30, 2013),^[21] Sarah Manchester (Regular version; September 17, 2014),^[22] and Melissa Joan Hart (Youth Villages) (Celebrity Wheel of Fortune; October 17, 2021).^[23] In the regular version, contestants who win the $1,000,000 may receive it in installments over 20 years, or in a lump sum of that amount's present value.^[24]

Previous rules

Originally, after winning a round, contestants spent their winnings on prize showcases that were presented onstage. At any time during a shopping round, a contestant could choose to put his or her winnings either on a gift certificate or "on account" for use in a later shopping round.^[25] Money put "on account" was lost if the contestant hit Bankrupt or failed to solve another puzzle.^[12] The shopping element was eliminated from the syndicated version on the episode that aired October 5, 1987,^[26] both to speed up gameplay and to alleviate the taxes paid by contestants.^[14] However, the network version continued to use shopping until the end of its first NBC run on June 30, 1989.^[27]

Before the introduction of toss-up puzzles in 2000,^[28] the contestant at the red arrow always started the first round, with the next contestant clockwise starting each subsequent round.^[29] In addition, ties for first place were broken by another speed-up round. If a tie for first place occurred on the daytime version, all three players returned to continue the game on the next episode, and it counted as a single appearance.^[30] The wheel formerly featured a Free Spin wedge, which automatically awarded a token that the contestant could turn in after a lost turn to keep control of the wheel.^[31] It was replaced in 1989 with a single Free Spin token placed over a selected cash wedge. Free Spin was retired in 2009. From 2009 to 2021, it was replaced by Free Play, a wedge that allowed a contestant to call any consonant or a free vowel, with no penalty if the letter was not in the puzzle or had already been called in the round.^[32]

Between September 16, 1996^[33] and 2013, the show featured a progressive Jackpot wedge, which had been in several different rounds in its history.^{[lower-alpha 5]} The jackpot began at $5,000 and had the value of every spin within the round added to it. To claim the jackpot, a contestant had to land on the wedge, call a correct letter, and solve the puzzle all in the same turn. In later years, it also offered $500 per correct letter and $500 to the jackpot, regardless of whether or not it was won in that turn.

The network version allowed champions to appear for up to five days originally, which was later reduced to three. The syndicated version, which originally retired contestants after one episode, adopted the three-day champion rule in 1989.^[36] In 1996, this was changed to have the top three winners from the week's first four shows return to compete in the "Friday Finals". When the jackpot wedge was introduced, it began at $10,000 instead of $5,000 on Fridays. The rules allowing returning champions were eliminated permanently beginning with the syndicated episode aired September 21, 1998, and contestants appear only on a single episode, reverting to the pre-1989 rules.^[37] The Friday Finals were reinstated for a special week in the 40th nighttime season, which featured teams consisting of contestants and members of World Wrestling Entertainment.^[38]

Before December 1981, the show did not feature a bonus round.^[12] However, two experimental bonus rounds were attempted before then. In 1978, some episodes featured a round known as the "Star Bonus", where a star-shaped token was placed on the wheel. Contestants who picked up the token played an additional round at the end of the game to win one of four prizes, whose value determined the difficulty of the puzzle. The contestant provided four consonants and a vowel, and was given 15 seconds to attempt solving.^[39] In one week of episodes airing in March 1980, contestants who won the main game were given 30 seconds to attempt solving a puzzle for a chance to win a luxury automobile, in a week called "Super Wheel Bonus Week".^[40] When the current bonus round was introduced in 1981, no letters were provided automatically. The contestant asked for five consonants and a vowel, and then had fifteen seconds to attempt solving the puzzle. Also, bonus prizes were selected by the contestant at the start of the round.^[41] The current time limit and rules for letter selection were introduced on October 3, 1988.^[42] Starting on September 4, 1989, bonus prizes were selected by the contestant choosing from one of five envelopes labeled W, H, E, E, and L. One prize was always $25,000 in cash, and the rest were changed weekly. Any prize that was won was taken out of rotation for the rest of the week.^[36] From 1998 to 2001, the $25,000 remained in-place for each episode during the entire week, regardless if it was won. In 2001, three car envelopes and two $25,000 envelopes were available the entire week of shows.^[43] These envelopes were replaced with the bonus wheel on October 22, 2001, with $25,000 as the minimum.^[44] In seasons 33 to 40, the minimum was $1,000 multiplied by the season number.

Hosts and hostesses

The original host of Wheel of Fortune was Chuck Woolery, who hosted the series from its 1975 premiere until December 25, 1981, save for one week in August 1980 when Alex Trebek hosted in his place.^[12][49] Woolery's departure came over a salary dispute with show creator Merv Griffin, and his contract was not renewed.^[14][50] On December 28, 1981, Pat Sajak made his debut as the host of Wheel.^[51] Griffin said that he chose Sajak for his "odd" sense of humor. NBC president and CEO Fred Silverman objected as he felt Sajak, who at the time of his hiring was the weatherman for KNBC, was "too local" for a national audience. Griffin countered by telling Silverman he would stop production if Sajak was not allowed to become host, and Silverman acquiesced.^[52]

Sajak hosted the daytime series until January 9, 1989, when he left to host a late-night talk show for CBS. The show's producers auditioned a number of potential successors upon his departure. These potential replacements included Michael Reagan, John Davidson, Bert Convy, and Tim Brando.^[53] Rolf Benirschke, a former placekicker in the National Football League, was chosen as his replacement and hosted for a little more than five months. Benirschke's term as host came to an end due to NBC's cancellation of the daytime Wheel after fourteen years, with its final episode airing on June 30, 1989.^[12] When the newly formatted daytime series returned on CBS on July 17, 1989, Bob Goen became its host. The daytime program continued for a year and a half on CBS, then returned to NBC on January 14, 1991, and continued until September 20, 1991, when it was cancelled for a second and final time.^[12]

Vanna White (left, with Pat Sajak at right) has been the show's co-host since 1982.

Susan Stafford was the original hostess, serving in that role from the premiere until October 1982. Stafford was absent for two extended periods, once in 1977 after fracturing two vertebrae in her back and once in 1979 after an automobile accident.^[12][54] During these two extended absences, former Miss USA Summer Bartholomew was Stafford's most frequent substitute, with model Cynthia Washington and comedian Arte Johnson also filling in for Stafford.^[55]

After Stafford left to become a humanitarian worker,^[45] over two hundred applicants signed up for a nationwide search to be her replacement.^[56] Griffin eventually narrowed the list to three finalists, which consisted of Summer Bartholomew, former Playboy centerfold Vicki McCarty, and Vanna White.^[57] Griffin gave each of the three women an opportunity to win the job by putting them in a rotation for several weeks after Stafford's departure.^[14] In December 1982, Griffin named White as Stafford's successor, saying that he felt she was capable of activating the puzzle board letters (which is the primary role of the Wheel hostess) better than anyone else who had auditioned.^[58] White became highly popular among the young female demographic,^[59] and also gained a fanbase of adults interested in her daily wardrobe, in a phenomenon that has been referred to as "Vannamania".^[56] White also hosted the daytime version until its cancellation in 1991, except for one week in June 1986 when Stafford returned so that White could recover after her fiancé, John Gibson, died in a plane crash.^[60][61]

Sajak and White have starred on the syndicated version continuously as host and hostess, respectively, since it began, except for very limited occasions. During two weeks in January 1991, Tricia Gist, the girlfriend and future wife of Griffin's son Tony, filled in for White when she and her new husband, restaurateur George San Pietro, were honeymooning.^[62] Gist returned for the week of episodes airing March 11 through 15, 1991, because White had a cold at the time of taping.^[63] On an episode in November 1996, when Sajak proved unable to host the bonus round segment because of laryngitis, he and White traded places for that segment.^[64][65] On the March 4, 1997 episode, Rosie O'Donnell co-hosted the third round with White after O'Donnell's name was used in a puzzle.^[66]

On April 1, 1997, Sajak and Alex Trebek traded jobs for the day. Sajak hosted that day's edition of Jeopardy! in place of Trebek.^[67] Trebek presided over a special two-contestant Wheel celebrity match between Sajak and White, who were playing for the Boy Scouts of America and the American Cancer Society, respectively.^[68] Lesly Sajak, Pat's wife, was the guest hostess for the day.^[67] In January and February 2011, the show held a "Vanna for a Day" contest in which home viewers submitted video auditions to take White's place for one episode, with the winner determined by a poll on the show's website.^[69] The winner of this contest, Katie Cantrell of Wooster, Ohio (a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design),^[70] took White's place for the second and third rounds on the episode that aired March 24, 2011.

In November 2019, three weeks of episodes were taped with White hosting in Sajak's place while he recovered from intestinal surgery.^[71] During her time as hostess, several guests appeared at the puzzle board, including costumed performers of Mickey and Minnie Mouse (during the Secret Santa shows),^[72] and Maggie Sajak (Sajak's daughter).^[73][74][75] Maggie joined the show as a special correspondent, making appearances similar to the "Clue Crew" on companion program Jeopardy!, in September 2021.^[15]

On June 12, 2023, Sajak announced he would be leaving Wheel at the end of the 41st season.^[76] A few weeks later Ryan Seacrest was announced to be the new host, starting in September 2024. Seacrest further stated that he looked forward to working alongside White.^[77] On September 19, 2023, Sony announced that White had extended her contract for additional two years to continue as co-host through the 2025–26 season.^[78] White was absent from the week of episodes airing October 2 through 6, 2023, due to her testing positive for COVID-19; taking her place for these episodes was schoolteacher Bridgette Donald-Blue, who was named Teacher of the Year for 2023 by the California Teachers Association.^[79]

Announcers

Charlie O'Donnell (left) was the show's longest-tenured announcer, holding this position from 1975 to 1980 and again from 1988 to 2010. He was succeeded by Jim Thornton (right) in 2011.

Charlie O'Donnell was the program's first and longest tenured announcer. In 1980, NBC was discussing cancelling Wheel and O'Donnell agreed to take the position as announcer on The Toni Tennille Show. The network decided against the cancellation but O'Donnell decided to honor his commitment and left the series.^[80] His replacement was Jack Clark, who added the syndicated series to his responsibilities when it premiered in 1983 and announced for both series until his death in July 1988.^[81] Los Angeles radio personality M. G. Kelly was Clark's replacement, starting on the daytime series in August 1988 and on the syndicated series a month later.^[82] Kelly held these positions until O'Donnell was able to return to the announcer position, doing so after his duties with Barris Industries came to an end at the end in 1989.^[12] O'Donnell remained with the series until shortly before his death in November 2010.^[83] Don Pardo, Don Morrow, and Johnny Gilbert have occasionally served as substitute announcers.^[12]

After O'Donnell's death, the producers sought a permanent replacement, and a series of substitutes announced, including Gilbert, John Cramer, Joe Cipriano, Rich Fields, Lora Cain, and Jim Thornton. In 2011, Thornton was chosen to be the show's fourth announcer.^[84] In season 39, Thornton appeared on-camera at the start of every episode.^[15]

Production staff

Wheel of Fortune typically employs a total of 100 in-house production personnel, with 60 to 100 local staff joining them for those episodes that are taped on location.^[85] Griffin was the executive producer of the network version throughout its entire run, and served as the syndicated version's executive producer until his retirement in 2000. Since 1999, the title of executive producer has been held by Harry Friedman, who had shared his title with Griffin for his first year,^[86] and had earlier served as a producer starting in 1995.^[2]

On August 1, 2019, Sony Pictures Television announced that Friedman would retire as executive producer of both Wheel and Jeopardy! at the end of the 2019–20 season.^[87] On August 29, 2019, Sony Pictures Television announced that Mike Richards would replace Friedman at the start of 2020–21 season.^[88] Following Richards' earlier resignation as permanent host of Jeopardy!, he was fired on August 31, 2021, from his executive producer position at both Jeopardy! and Wheel. A Sony memo indicated that Michael Davies from Embassy Row would serve as interim executive producer of both Wheel and Jeopardy!; however, Davies was not credited on any episodes of Wheel, and Deadline subsequently reported that supervising producer Steve Schwartz oversaw the balance of the show's 39th season.^[89][86][90] Sajak was named a consulting producer in September 2021.^[15] On March 23, 2022, Bellamie Blackstone was announced to be a permanent executive producer for Wheel, with Schwartz getting promoted to co-executive producer.^[90]

John Rhinehart was the program's first producer, but departed in August 1976 to become NBC's West Coast Daytime Program Development Director. Afterwards, his co-producer, Nancy Jones, was promoted to sole producer, and served as such until 1995, when Friedman succeeded her.^[2] In 1997, Karen Griffith and Steve Schwartz joined Friedman as producers. They were later promoted to supervising producers, with Amanda Stern occupying Griffith's and Schwartz's former position.^[86]

The show's original director was Jeff Goldstein, who was succeeded by Dick Carson (a brother of Johnny Carson) in 1978.^[12] Mark Corwin, who had served as associate director under Carson, took over for him upon his retirement at the end of the 1998–99 season, and served as such until he himself died in July 2013 (although episodes already taped before his death continued airing until late 2013).^[91] Jeopardy! director Kevin McCarthy,^[92] Corwin's associate director Bob Cisneros,^[93] and Wheel and Jeopardy! technical director Robert Ennis filled in at various points,^[94] until Cisneros became full-time director in November 2013.^[95] Ennis returned as guest director for the weeks airing October 13 through 17 and November 17 through 21, 2014, as Cisneros was recovering from neck surgery at the time of taping.^[96][97] On September 14, 2015, Ennis was promoted to full-time director.^[98] Ennis retired at the end of the 2022–23 season and was replaced by Alex Van Wagner.^[78]

Set

The design of the Wheel of Fortune set as seen in 2012.

The 1997–2022 puzzle board, as seen in 2012 during the Jackpot Round.

Various changes have been made to the basic set since the syndicated version's premiere in 1983. In 1997, a large video display was added center stage, which was then upgraded in 2003 as the show began the transition into high-definition broadcasting. In the mid-1990s, the show began a long-standing tradition of nearly every week coming with its own unique theme. As a result, in addition to its generic design, the set also uses many alternate designs, which are unique to specific weekly sets of themed programs. The most recent set design was conceived by production designer Renee Hoss-Johnson, with later modifications by Jody Vaclav.^[106] Previous set designers included Ed Flesh^[107] and Dick Stiles.^[106]

Shopper's Bazaar used a vertically mounted wheel which was often difficult to see on-screen. Ed Flesh, who also designed the sets for The $25,000 Pyramid and Jeopardy!, redesigned the wheel mechanism, in which the wheel lays flat while a camera zooms in from above.^[108] The first incarnation of the wheel was mostly made of paint and cardboard, and has since seen multiple design changes.^[107] Until the mid-1990s, the wheel spun automatically during the opening and closing of the show. The current incarnation, in use since 2003, is framed on a steel tube surrounded by Plexiglas panels and contains more than 200 lighting instruments. It is held by a stainless steel shaft with roller bearings. Altogether, the wheel weighs approximately 2,400 pounds (1,100 kg).^[85] The wheel, including its light extensions, is 16.5 ft (5.0 m) in diameter.^[109]

The show's original puzzle board had three rows of 13 manually operated trilons, for a total of 39 spaces. On December 21, 1981, a larger board with 48 trilons in four rows (11, 13, 13, and 11 trilons) was adopted. This board was surrounded by a double-arched border of lights which flashed at the beginning and end of the round. Each trilon had three sides: a green side to represent spaces not used by the puzzle, a blank side to indicate a letter that had not been revealed, and a side with a letter on it.^[29] While the viewer saw a seamless transition to the next puzzle, with these older boards in segments where more than one puzzle was present, a stop-down of taping took place during which the board was wheeled offstage and the new puzzle loaded in by hand out of sight of the contestants. On February 24, 1997, the show introduced a computerized puzzle board composed of 52 touch-activated monitors in four rows (12 on the top and bottom rows, 14 in the middle two).^[85] During regular gameplay, when a contestant chose a letter that is in the puzzle, the monitors at those positions became illuminated and the hostess touched the right edge of each one to reveal the letter.^[110] The puzzle board was refurbished for season 40 in 2022, replacing the individual monitors for each letter with a singular video board, and using lidar sensors for touch input.^[111]

Although not typically seen by viewers, the set also includes a used letter board that shows contestants which letters are remaining in play, a scoreboard that is visible from the contestants' perspective, and a countdown clock.^[112][113] The used letter board is also used during the bonus round, and in at least one case, helped the contestant to see unused letters to solve a difficult puzzle.^[114]

Music

Alan Thicke composed the show's original theme, which was titled "Big Wheels". In 1983, it was replaced by Griffin's own composition, "Changing Keys",^[119] to allow him to derive royalties from that composition's use on both the network and syndicated versions. Steve Kaplan became music director starting in 1997, and continued to serve as such until he was killed when the Cessna 421C Golden Eagle he was piloting crashed into a home in Claremont, California, in December 2003.^[120] His initial theme was a remix of "Changing Keys", but by 2000, he replaced it with a composition of his own, which was titled "Happy Wheels".^[121] Since 2006, music direction has been handled by Frankie Blue and John Hoke.^[106] Themes they have written for the show include a remix of "Happy Wheels" and an original rock-based composition.^[121] A rearranged version of "Changing Keys" composed by Hoke and performed by Bleeding Fingers Music has been used as the main theme music starting in 2021.^[122]

In addition to "Changing Keys", Griffin also composed various incidental music cues for the syndicated version which were used for announcements of prizes in the show's early years. Among them were "Frisco Disco" (earlier the closing theme for a revival of Jeopardy! which aired in 1978 and 1979),^[123] "A Time for Tony" (whose basic melody evolved into "Think!", the longtime theme song for Jeopardy!),^[124] "Buzzword" (later used as the theme for Merv Griffin's Crosswords), "Nightwalk", "Struttin' on Sunset", and an untitled vacation cue.^[121]

Audition process

The most recent design of the Wheelmobile at the Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort near Jackson, California

Marty Lublin interviews a potential contestant during an audition at Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California.

Anyone at least 18 years old has the potential to become a contestant through Wheel of Fortune's audition process. Exceptions include employees and immediate family members of Paramount Global, Sony Pictures Entertainment, or any of their respective affiliates or subsidiaries; any firm involved in supplying prizes for the show; and television stations that broadcast Wheel and/or Jeopardy!, their sister radio stations or newspapers (if any), and those advertising agencies that are affiliated with them. Also ineligible to apply as contestants are individuals who have appeared on a different game show within the previous year, three other game shows within the past ten years, or on any version of Wheel of Fortune itself, including the 1997–98 children's version, Wheel 2000.^[125]

Throughout the year, the show uses a custom-designed Winnebago recreational vehicle called the "Wheelmobile" to travel across the United States, holding open auditions at various public venues. Participants are provided with entry forms which are then drawn randomly. Individuals whose names are drawn appear on stage, five at a time, and are interviewed by traveling host Marty Lublin. The group of five then plays a mock version of the speed-up round, and five more names are selected after a puzzle is solved. Everyone who is called onstage receives a themed prize, usually determined by the spin of a miniature wheel. Auditions typically last two days, with three one-hour segments per day.^[126] After each Wheelmobile event, the "most promising candidates" are invited back to the city in which the first audition was held, to participate in a second audition. Alternatively, a participant may submit an audition form with a self-shot video through the show's website to enter an audition. Contestants not appearing on stage at Wheelmobile events have their applications retained and get drawn at random to fill second-level audition vacancies. At the second audition, potential contestants play more mock games featuring a miniature wheel and puzzle board, followed by a 16-puzzle test with some letters revealed. The contestants have five minutes to solve as many puzzles as they can by writing in the correct letters. The people who pass continue the audition, playing more mock games which are followed by interviews.^[127][128]

Since the show's hiatus due to COVID-19 ended, all auditions have been conducted online.^[129]

Celebrity Wheel of Fortune

In November 2020, ABC ordered a prime time spin-off show, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, with Sajak and White as hosts and initially with Richards as executive producer,^[152] which premiered on January 7, 2021.^[153] Each hour-long episode consists of two complete games, both contributing to a combined total – the first with three regular rounds, the second with a minimum of three regular rounds including a speed-up round – along with toss-ups and a bonus round in each game, with a combined minimum of $30,000. The game features modified rules, including four million-dollar wedges (all without Bankrupt spaces, which are available in each game, starting from round 2, which can allow replacing one of the four $100,000 envelopes with the $1,000,000 envelope in the Bonus Round, with a minimum of $25,000), and an additional cash bonus for each puzzle solved by a celebrity: $5,000 in Round 1, $10,000 in Round 2, which is also given to a home viewer, and $20,000 in Round 3 and subsequent rounds in the second game. Games in this format are played entirely for cash, with all winnings donated to a charity selected by that celebrity, though some episodes have included a "Prize Puzzle" with a vacation prize for a home viewer in the first game, starting with season 3.

In May 2021, ABC renewed Celebrity Wheel of Fortune for a second season,^[154] which premiered on September 26, 2021.^[155] In May 2022, ABC renewed Celebrity Wheel of Fortune for a third season,^[156] which premiered on September 25, 2022.^[157] In May 2023, ABC renewed Celebrity Wheel of Fortune for a fourth season which premiered on September 27, 2023^[158] by which point Blackstone had taken over as executive producer.^[159] In July 2023, White had signed a new deal to return as hostess of the show.^[160]

Citations

Works cited