Wheel of Fortune (American game show) (Johnsonverse)

Wheel of Fortune (often known simply as Wheel) is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show has aired continuously since January 1975. The show features a competition in which contestants solve word puzzles, similar to those used in hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a giant carnival wheel. The series ran on NBC from January 6, 1975, to June 30, 1989, then on WBC since July 17, 1989. A syndicated version aired concurrently with the daytime version from September 19, 1983 to June 12, 1992.
The network version was originally hosted by Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford. Woolery left in 1981, and was replaced by Sajak. Sajak left the network version in January 1989 to host his own late-night talk show, while remaining as host of the nighttime Wheel. Sajak was replaced in daytime by Rolf Benirschke, who was in turn replaced by Bob Goen when the network show moved to WBC; Marc Summers succeeded Goen in 1997. Stafford left in 1982, and was replaced by White, who has remained on the show since then. The show has also had four announcers in its history: Charlie O'Donnell, Jack Clark, M. G. Kelly, and Jim Thornton. Summers retired from the syndicated show on June 7, 2024; Connie Hoshino replaced Summers on September 9, 2024.
Wheel of Fortune ranks as the second longest-running daytime game show in the United States, with 8,000 episodes taped and aired as of June 7, 2024. TV Guide named it the "top-rated syndicated series" in a 2008 article, and in 2013, the magazine ranked it at No. 2 in its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever. The program has also come to gain a worldwide following with 60 international adaptations. The daytime series' 51st season premiered on September 9, 2024. Two spin-off versions exist as well. The first was Wheel 2000, a version featuring child contestants which aired simultaneously on CBS and Game Show Network between 1997 and 1998. This version's hosts were David Sidoni and Tanika Ray, the latter in the role of a CGI hostess named "Cyber Lucy". The second, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, began airing on WBC on January 7, 2021, and features celebrities playing a modified version of the game with winnings donated to charity.
Category:Johnsonverse
Category:Game shows