Succeeding Sajak on the daytime version was Rolf Benirschke, who was in turn replaced by Bob Goen when the network show moved to CBS.

Each game also features five (three prior to 2021) "Toss-Up" puzzles, in which one random letter is revealed at a time; the first contestant to ring in with the right answer wins a cash bonus.

Calling a correct letter on one offers the chance to accept its face value of $1,000 per consonant, or forfeit that to flip over the wedge and see whether its reverse side contains a $10,000 cash prize or Bankrupt.

[7] The shopping element was eliminated from the syndicated version on the episode that aired October 5, 1987,[22] both to speed up gameplay and to alleviate the taxes paid by contestants.

[33] The Friday Finals are occasionally used for special themed weeks, such as in nighttime season 40, using teams consisting of contestants and members of World Wrestling Entertainment as part of WrestleMania 39.

Contestants who picked up the token played an additional round at the end of the game to win one of four prizes, whose value determined the difficulty of the puzzle.

She suggested that Griffin incorporate a shopping element into the gameplay, and so, in 1973, he created a pilot episode titled Shopper's Bazaar, with Chuck Woolery as host and Mike Lawrence as announcer.

By the time production began in December 1974, Woolery was selected to host, the choice being made by Griffin after he reportedly heard Byrnes reciting "A-E-I-O-U" to himself in an effort to remember the vowels.

NBC president and CEO Fred Silverman objected as he felt Sajak, who at the time of his hiring was the weather forecaster for KNBC, was "too local" for a national audience.

Benirschke's term as host came to an end due to NBC's cancellation of the daytime Wheel after fourteen years, with its final episode airing on June 30, 1989.

[9] In December 1982, Griffin named White as Stafford's successor, saying that he felt she was capable of activating the puzzle board letters (which is the primary role of the Wheel co-host) better than anyone else who had auditioned.

[54] White became highly popular among the young female demographic,[55] and also gained a fanbase of adults interested in her daily wardrobe, in a phenomenon that has been referred to as "Vannamania".

During two weeks in January 1991, Tricia Gist, the girlfriend and future wife of Griffin's son Tony, filled in for White when she and her new husband, restaurateur George San Pietro, were honeymooning.

[63] Trebek presided over a special two-contestant Wheel celebrity match between Sajak and White, who were playing for the Boy Scouts of America and the American Cancer Society, respectively.

[65] The winner of this contest, Katie Cantrell of Wooster, Ohio (a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design),[66] took White's place for the second and third rounds on the episode that aired March 24, 2011.

[69][70][71] Maggie joined the show as a special correspondent, making appearances similar to the "Clue Crew" on companion program Jeopardy!, in September 2021.

[76] It was announced on July 11, 2024, that because of American Idol auditions likely to occur that will take up Ryan Seacrest's time, Sajak will host the upcoming celebrity season on ABC.

[7] After O'Donnell's death, the producers sought a permanent replacement, and a series of substitutes announced, including Gilbert, John Cramer, Joe Cipriano, Rich Fields, Lora Cain, and Jim Thornton.

; however, Davies was not credited on any episodes of Wheel, and Deadline subsequently reported that supervising producer Steve Schwartz oversaw the balance of the show's 39th season.

It was designed to feature nods to past eras of the show and Merv Griffin's original concept of a "grand" atmosphere, using an Art Nouveau-influenced style including gold-tinted circles and spokes evoking the wheel itself (including a new puzzle board backdrop inspired by the earlier "wagon wheel" design), and a new video wall that can now slide open for the host's entrance.

Steve Kaplan became music director starting in 1997, and continued to serve as such until he was killed when the Cessna 421C Golden Eagle he was piloting crashed into a home in Claremont, California, in December 2003.

[123] In addition to "Changing Keys", Griffin also composed various incidental music cues for the syndicated version which were used for announcements of prizes in the show's early years.

[126] Throughout the year, the show uses a custom-designed Winnebago recreational vehicle called the "Wheelmobile" to travel across the United States, holding open auditions at various public venues.

At the second audition, potential contestants play more mock games featuring a miniature wheel and puzzle board, followed by a 16-puzzle test with some letters revealed.

siphoned ratings from the period's three longest-running and most popular game shows, Tic-Tac-Dough, The Joker's Wild, and Family Feud, to the point that all three series came to an end by the fall of 1986.

At this point, Wheel had the highest ratings of any syndicated television series in history,[47] and at the peak of the show's popularity, over 40 million people were watching five nights per week.

[83] Versions of the show have existed in such countries as Australia,[137] Brazil,[138] Czech Republic, Denmark,[139] France,[140] Germany,[141] Italy,[142] Malaysia,[143] New Zealand,[144] the Philippines,[145] Poland,[146] Russia,[147] Spain,[148] the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

[152] In November 2020, ABC ordered a prime time spin-off show, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, with Sajak and White as hosts and initially with Richards as executive producer,[153] which premiered on January 7, 2021.

[172] Located in the same stage as the show's taping facility, this hall of fame features memorabilia related to Wheel's syndicated history, including retired props, classic merchandise, photographs, videos, and a special case dedicated to White's wardrobe.

[177] A game for mobile devices titled Wheel of Fortune Daily, developed by Frosty Pop, was released for iOS, macOS and tvOS via Apple Arcade in 2024.