Ryan Seacrest brings change, but he won't reinvent the 'Wheel of Fortune' with Vanna White

LOS ANGELES − "Wheel of Fortune" fans tuning into Monday's much-anticipated debut of Ryan Seacrest as host (check local listings) will see big changes in the 42nd season of the still-iconic game show.

At a taping last month, the studio audience went "Wheel" wild in front of a spanking new gold metal laminate-adorned set covered with 264 brilliant LED screens.

"It's like remodeling your home after 40 years," famed letter-turner and "Wheel" co-host Vanna White says, sitting next to host Ryan Seacrest in the show's green room before their first taping. "You still feel like you're at home, but it's just a little updated."

"We're still trying to look for where the outlets are," Seacrest adds with a laugh. He's joking, of course. Because the boyishly coiffed and lethally quippy "American Idol" host, 49, is really the big change at "Wheel." Seacrest replaces Pat Sajak, 77, who retired in June after 41 years and more than 8,000 episodes of the Hangman-inspired TV game show.

How did it go without Pat Sajak? Ryan Seacrest debuts as 'Wheel of Fortune' host with Vanna White by his side

Fear not, die-hard fans: Seacrest promises a limit to the modifications. He's not going to try to reinvent the "Wheel of Fortune."

"Nothing needs to change. Just me standing there with my voice and my mannerisms, that's different enough," says Seacrest, who practiced hosting for months with mock games and contestants. "I want the audience to feel like this is the right decision. I want (the show) to be something that's not jarring, that's seamless."

Vanna White is 'Wheel of Fortune' constant, with new foam under the heels

Comforting points of consistency carry over from the Sajak era: The multicolored wheel spun by the three contestants remains unchanged after 20 years, still making that telltale clicking noise from the outside steel pins hitting the rubber flapper. The puzzles won't vary. Golden-piped Jim Thornton remains the "Wheel" announcer. And buying a vowel costs the same. "It's been $250 for 42 years," White says proudly.

The famous co-host, who extended her contract for two years in 2023 after Sajak's retirement announcement, remains the ultimate and fashionably gowned conduit to the new era. Sajak and White have been close friends ever since the onetime Miss Georgia nervously auditioned for "Wheel" in 1982 and turned into a global star who elegantly revealed the puzzle-board letters.

"It was a hard decision to make when I heard that Pat was leaving. It was like, 'Gosh, we've been together 40 years. Do I go with him?'" White says. "But then I thought that I'm not ready to leave. I'm not ready to retire."

White stayed on board and received a pay raise and a low-key job performance boost: several inches of foam padding discreetly placed beneath the game puzzle board area she treads while activating correctly guessed letters. "I think they just wanted to make it easier for me to do all that walking in 5-inch heels," she says.

The relationship between incoming Seacrest and White has seen a similar, professionally soft landing. The patter between the two , in smiling conversations on stage and off, is effortless. It's as if they've been doing this forever. Seacrest and White even have an adorable backstage moment before each episode.

"We do a teeth check," Seacrest says. "It's last looks, honestly. Because if there's something in our teeth, I'm responsible for her. She's responsible for me."

Sajak and White would enter arm-in-arm from the side stage; Seacrest and White now have a grand entrance from behind sliding, brilliantly lit doors at center stage before going to their respective "Wheel" stations.

"We get to come through a big-time show door," Seacrest says. "It's a fun entrance for us."

How does Ryan Seacrest have time for 'Wheel of Fortune'?

If there's one lingering question from "Wheel" fans, it's just how many entrances Seacrest will make. Sajak, who hosted CBS' failed late-night talker "The Pat Sajak Show" in 1989-90, is synonymous with "Wheel," setting a Guinness Book record for hosting the same show.

Seacrest has a famously super-packed schedule, even by hard-charging Hollywood standards. He hosts the daily IHeart radio program "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" and the weekly "American Top 40" show (inherited from the legendary Casey Kasem). He'll ring in 2025 by hosting his 20th edition of ABC's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest" (inherited from the legendary Dick Clark) before gearing up to host Season 23 of the network's "American Idol" in February.

Between the "well-oiled machine" of "Wheel," with its episodes filmed in strategic batches (six a day, four times a month) and his famously insane planning, Seacrest says the new gig doesn't rob him of his sleep time.

"You can look at my schedule until 2026, and if you want to know when I'm working out, I can tell you," Seacrest says. "This show allows me to do a lot of different things because of the way they put it together in the (schedule) puzzle. But there's never a dull moment."

The "Wheel" host has signed a multi-year contract and is "committed" but won't speculate on how long he'll stay.

"I hope the audience feels the same way," he says. "But this is something I want to do for a long time."

And if there are still loyal Sajak holdouts who won't fully support a new "Wheel" host, Seacrest asks that he at least gets a chance to spin that wheel.

"No one can beat Pat Sajak. He's a legend and icon. I can't be Pat, I can be me. And I can hopefully make it as fun and seamless as possible. That's all I can hope for."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ryan Seacrest's 'Wheel of Fortune' debut nears; New host reveals all