Wheel of Fortune
Also known as	Wheel
Genre	Game show
Created by	Merv Griffin
Directed by	Jeff Goldstein Dick Carson Mark Corwin Bob Cisneros Robert Ennis Alex Van Wagner
Presented by	Chuck Woolery Pat Sajak Rolf Benirschke Bob Goen Susan Stafford Vanna White Maggie Sajak Ryan Seacrest
Announcer	Charlie O'Donnell Jack Clark M. G. Kelly Jim Thornton
Theme music composer	Alan Thicke Merv Griffin Steve Kaplan Frankie Blue John Hoke Bleeding Fingers Music
Ending theme	"Changing Keys"
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	syndication: 43 Wheel 2000: 1 Celebrity WoF: 5
No. of episodes	syndication: ca. 8000 Wheel 2000: 24 Celebrity WoF: 55
Production
Executive producers	Merv Griffin (1975–2000) Harry Friedman (1999–2020) Mike Richards (2020–2021) Steve Schwartz (2021–2022)[a] Bellamie Blackstone (2022–present)
Producers	John Rhinehart Nancy Jones Harry Friedman[1] Karen Griffith Steve Schwartz
Production locations	NBC Studios, Burbank, California (1975–1989) Television City, Los Angeles, California (1989–1995) Sony Pictures Studios Stage 11, Culver City, California (1995–present)
Running time	approx. 22 minutes
Production companies	Merv Griffin Enterprises[b] (1984–1994) CBS Media Ventures[c] Columbia TriStar Television[d] (1994–2002) Sony Pictures Television[e] (2002–present)
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	January 6, 1975 (1975-01-06) – June 30, 1989 (1989-06-30)
Network	Syndication
Release	September 19, 1983 (1983-09-19) – present
Network	CBS
Release	July 17, 1989 (1989-07-17) – January 11, 1991 (1991-01-11)
Network	NBC
Release	January 14 (1991-01-14) – September 20, 1991 (1991-09-20)
Network	CBS Game Show Network (Wheel 2000)
Release	September 13, 1997 (1997-09-13) – February 7, 1998 (1998-02-07)
Network	ABC (Celebrity Wheel of Fortune)
Release	January 7, 2021 (2021-01-07) – present
Related
Wheel 2000 Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Wheel of Fortune (often known simply as Wheel^[f]) is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show has aired continuously since January 6, 1975. Contestants solve word puzzles, similar to those in hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a giant carnival wheel. The current version of the series, which airs in nightly syndication, premiered on September 19, 1983. Since September 9, 2024, the show has been hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White, with Jim Thornton as the announcer.

The original version of Wheel was a network daytime series that ran on NBC from January 6, 1975, to June 30, 1989, and subsequently aired on CBS from July 17, 1989, to January 11, 1991; it returned to NBC on January 14, 1991, and was cancelled that year, ending on September 20, 1991. The network daytime and syndicated nighttime versions aired concurrently from 1983 until the former's conclusion. Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford were the original hosts of the daytime network version. Woolery left in 1981, and was replaced by Pat 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. Succeeding Sajak on the daytime version was Rolf Benirschke, who was in turn replaced by Bob Goen when the network show moved to CBS. Stafford left in 1982 and was replaced by Vanna White, who remained on the network show for the rest of its run. Sajak retired from the nighttime version in June 2024 and was replaced by Seacrest in September of the same year. Charlie O'Donnell, Jack Clark, and M.G. Kelly all served as announcers prior to Thornton taking over in 2011.

Wheel of Fortune ranks as the longest-running syndicated game show in the United States, with 8,000 episodes taped and aired as of June 7, 2024.^[2] TV Guide named it the "top-rated syndicated series" in a 2008 article,^[2] and in 2013, the magazine ranked it at number two in its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever.^[3] The program has also come to gain a worldwide following with 60 international adaptations. The syndicated series' 41st season premiered on September 11, 2023. With the show's 36th season in 2018, Sajak became the longest-running host of any game show, surpassing Bob Barker, who hosted The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007.^[4] 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 co-host named "Cyber Lucy". The second, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, began airing on ABC on January 7, 2021, and features celebrities playing a modified version of the game with winnings donated to charity.

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