Ryan Seacrest’s ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Premiere Week Ratings Are the Best in 5 Years Amid Fan Backlash

Despite mixed fan reactions to Wheel of Fortune’s new changes, Ryan Seacrest is already bringing viewership up in his first season as host.

During Ryan’s debut week as host, which began on September 9, Wheel of Fortune saw its largest premiere week audience in five years, per Nielsen. The premiere week averaged 8.31 million viewers, and the game show cemented itself as the No. 1 show in syndication. Week 1 earned the long-running program a 4.88 household rating.

The season 42 premiere episode was Wheel of Fortune’s highest-rated season premiere audience in nine years. A whopping 9.63 million total viewers watched Ryan, 49, take the stage with letter-turner Vanna White for the very first time.

Last year’s premiere episode with longtime host Pat Sajak attracted 5.68 million viewers. Pat marked his departure from the program after 41 seasons on June 7.

As Pat, 77, waved goodbye to the series, Wheel of Fortune made some changes to its iconic set, including adding a new puzzle board.

“It’s like remodeling your home after 40 years,” Vanna, 67, told USA Today ahead of the premiere. “You still feel like you’re at home, but it’s just a little updated.”

Vanna admitted that her role on the puzzle board is a lot different this season.

“When I first started, I had to physically turn every letter,” she told Parade in an interview published on September 20. “Then they switched to TV monitors, so I just had to touch the letters and they would light up. Now the board is operated by a laser. It’s like a flat screen. And when I go to touch the letter, the laser catches my movement. It’s crazy, right?”

Viewers had a lot to say on social media about the new puzzle board, as well as the other changes made to the set.

“Not to be negative but I absolutely hate what they’ve done to the #wheeloffortune set. It feels like one of those weird international versions of the show. Very distracting,” one person wrote on X.

“How could they do this this is an abomination make it stop” one person wrote on Reddit. “Go back to the seasonal lovely holiday sets that they had that were so sweet and creative and lovely! What they have done is cheapening the show and obviously saving them a lot of money but not changing anything in the background.”

Another person on X said, “The Wheel of Fortune set is really not good. There are so many different colors not aesthetically pleasing. It almost makes me sick to watch it. Especially the long shot when they show Ryan and the contestant, it’s like your eyes don’t know where to go. This needs to be redone.”

Others voiced distaste over Ryan’s hosting skills. “Ryan Seacrest is a disaster as a host on Wheel of Fortune,” one person wrote on X, while another said, “Ryan Seacrest hosting Wheel of Fortune just isn’t right.”

However, there were some social media users who came to Ryan’s defense, and praised him for his new role on the program.

“Ryan Seacrest did very, very well on his first night as the new host of Wheel of Fortune,” one X user wrote. “Many hosts are quite nervous their first night as the new host of an established TV show (i.e.- The Tonight Show) but Ryan seemed super chill. I think he’ll be a good host for years to come.”

Another fan said, “He did a good job. It has to be difficult to follow in Pat Sajak’s footsteps because he was the host for so long, but Ryan Seacrest will do great as he adjusts to his new role as host.”