Pat Sajak to retire at the end of Season 41.

Wanna Host and Maggie co-host?!

Part of the evidence suggesting it doesn't exist is that the two-day champion from S13's final Culver City episode returned in early Season 14. If there was an extra Culver City show after Atlanta, it couldn't have had champions, because if it did, it would have been that contestant's final day. There was one unverified claim on the Wiki that the episode that aired after the Atlanta finale was a rerun of Teen Week's Friday Finals.

Said “unresolved mess” has been essentially resolved for almost two years. Like it or not (and I can’t say I’m a particularly big fan of it), Jeopardy has stability once again and is thriving just as much of not more than it was when Alex was around.

However, this raises an interesting question that someone else brought up; Will Wheel go the same albeit accidental route of having a dedicated daytime and separate Primetime/spin-offs host? While that was the original intention, the job is pretty much split 50/50 all the way around at this point. Yet I wouldn’t be shocked to see Wheel go this way, even though the non-daytime commitment is far less than the syndicated show.

^ Well, I think Ryan could be a good host. I liked when he hosts Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve. Should he become the WOF host, would he still be able to host NYRE?

And Wheel always takes about a one-month break in taping between mid-December and mid-January.

Vanna broke her silence and doesn’t appear to be following Pat in leaving the show:



Meanwhile another ABC star has thrown their hat into the ring:

uproxx.com/tv/wheel-of-fortune-new-host-whoopi-goldberg-ryan-seacrest/

Bob Goen is still alive. He could host, but he is 68. Howie Mandel was a great DOND host. He could host, but he is 67. Whoppi Goldberg is also 67. Jimmy Kimmel is 55. His WWTBAM reboot was put on hiatus. I don't think it's coming back, so he could host WOF. Ken Jennings is 49 and Mayim Bialik is 47. NPH is 49.

Besides, I'd imagine TPTB would want somebody born after 1955 to take on the job. Let's be real: they'd probably want someone who can carry the gig for years to come.

Interesting parallels between Pat's retirement and Bob Barker's retirement from Price 16 years ago.

Bob and Pat both outlived the producers of the show who hired them, Mark Goodson and Merv Griffin, respectively.

Both Bob and Pat outlived 2 permanent announcers, in Bob's case legendary Johnny Olson and Rod Roddy, while Pat outlived Jack Clark and Charlie O'Donnell.

I think it's imperative that whoever succeeds Pat at the helm be low key, much the way the other Wheel hosts were (Chuck, Rolf and Bob Goen).

While he is 66, I think John Michael Higgins would serve as a viable successor to Pat for the next 5 to 10 years.

I'd have no problem at all seeing Vanna take over as host and Maggie Sajak as the puzzle board.

Could be the show may go with somebody who never hosted a game show before.  Three out of four of Merv's picks had no previous game show hosting experience, with Chuck being a country singer, Pat a weatherman, and Rolf a pro football player.  Only Bob Goen had previous hosting experience when he was given the reigns on the el cheapo CBS daytime version.

Savor this last season with Pat at the helm.  I still remember being 15 years old and seeing Pat take over on NBC back in late December 1981.  Seems like only yesterday...