LOS ANGELES (AP) — For the first time in almost 8,000 episodes, “Wheel of Fortune” did not open with a hello from longtime host Pat Sajak.
Ryan Seacrest stepped into Sajak’s shoes after his 41-year tenure as host of the famed game show, joining co-host and letter turner Vanna White. Seacrest, a familiar television and radio presence known for hosting “American Idol,” New Year’s Eve programming and a long-running radio show, debuted as the series’ new host Monday night.
“I still can’t believe my luck being here with you tonight to continue this legacy of this incredible show with all of you, and, of course, my good friend Vanna White,” Seacrest said as he opened the show. “Thank you for the very warm welcome.”
In a brief opening monologue before the gameplay began, Seacrest acknowledged Sajak’s impact as host and his retirement at the end of the 41st season. Sajak won his fourth Emmy Award for best game show host for his final season Saturday at the Creative Arts Emmys.
“Hosting ‘Wheel of Fortune’ is a dream job. I’ve been a fan of this show since I was a kid watching it in Atlanta with my family, and I know how special it is that ‘Wheel’ has been in your living rooms for the past 40 years,” he said. “I’m just so grateful to be invited in. I also know I’ve got some very big shoes to fill, so let’s play ‘Wheel of Fortune.’”
In his first episode, Seacrest brought an energetic spirit and his classic good-humored nature. In a departure from his predecessor, he did not use cue cards to speak with contestants Corina, Terry and Cindy about their backgrounds.
Beyond the obvious change of Seacrest taking over for Sajak, the premiere of the 42nd season also showcased some aesthetic adjustments.
The colorful wheel and the iconic puzzle board remain largely the same, although White did get upgraded to a motion sensor board in 2022 to celebrate the 40th season. The stage has been updated and now features golden wheels and spokes in a more modern, sleek design.
Seacrest asked White how she liked the new stage during the hallmark banter the host and letter turner share to close the show. White said there were “a lot of lights, a lot of action,” and Seacrest quipped that he hoped it would continue working through his first week.
Seacrest told The Associated Press in a recent interview “the scale of the set was pretty impressive” to him when he first stepped on set.
The shooting schedule is still as fast-paced as ever, with Seacrest saying that while it may be busy to shoot multiple episodes per day, it makes it convenient for his packed schedule of other hosting duties.
Many of the familiar elements of the show are just as they were when Sajak left the series. White still wears a formal gown, Seacrest sported a suit and tie like Sajak did, the recognizable sound effects and “devices” contestants use to play are the same. The culture behind the scenes also seems to have remained as genial as the 30-minute episodes.
“I’ve also have been impressed with how close the family is that works on ’Wheel of Fortune,’ the production team that puts it together. It’s a lot of people,” Seacrest said in an interview at an event with White promoting the new season. “They’re really a family and they have a lot of respect for every single person, what they do on the show, and that’s special.”
White added that one staff member who started on the show when she was 18 now has kids who are graduating from college. “We’ve been together a long time,” she said.
Producer Liam McEwan contributed to this report.
FILE - Ryan Seacrest arrives at an "American Idol" Season 22 Top 10 tastemaker event, Monday, April 22, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
GENEVA (AP) — Independent U.N. human rights experts said in a new report Tuesday that their findings show Venezuela's government has intensified the use of “harshest and most violent" tools of repression following the disputed July presidential election.
The official results of the July 28 vote have been widely criticized as undemocratic, opaque and aimed to maintain President Nicolás Maduro in power.
In its report, the fact-finding mission on Venezuela, commissioned by the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council, denounced rights violations including arbitrary detentions, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence by the country's security forces that “taken as a whole, constitute the crime against humanity of persecution on political grounds.”
“During the period covered by this report, and especially after the presidential election of July 28, 2024, the state reactivated and intensified the harshest and most violent mechanisms of its repressive apparatus,” said the experts in the report, which covered a one-year period through Aug. 31.
The findings echo concerns from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Human Rights Watch, and others about Venezuela and its democracy, including repression before and after the highly anticipated vote and the subsequent flight into exile of Venezuela's opposition leader Edmundo González.
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, said he won with 52% of the vote. But opposition supporters collected tally sheets from 80% of the nation's electronic voting machines, and said that indicated González had won the election — with twice as many votes as Maduro.
Global condemnation over the lack of transparency prompted Maduro to ask Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice, whose members are aligned with the ruling party, to audit the results. The high court reaffirmed his victory.
The independent experts, who do not represent the United Nations, decried the government's efforts to crush peaceful opposition to its rule.
The justice system — led by the Supreme Tribunal — “is clearly subordinated” to the interests of Maduro and his close allies and served as a “key instrument in its plan to repress all forms of political and social opposition,” they wrote.
In the hours after Maduro was declared the winner, thousands of people took to the streets across Venezuela. The protests were largely peaceful, but demonstrators also toppled statues of Maduro’s predecessor, the late Hugo Chávez, threw rocks at law enforcement officers and buildings, and burned police motorcycles and government propaganda.
Maduro's government responded to the demonstrations with full force, carrying out arbitrary detentions, prosecutions as well as a campaign that encourages people to report relatives, neighbors and other acquaintances who participated in the protests or cast doubt on the results.
The independent experts said they compiled the report through interviews with 383 people and reviews of court case files and other documents while also acknowledging limits to their information-gathering in the post-election period.
The experts said their requests for information from Venezuelan authorities were “ignored” despite appeals for cooperation from the rights council, which is made up of a rotating membership among 47 U.N. member countries.
Associated Press writers Regina Garcia Cano in Mexico City and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro addresses government loyalists gathered at the presidential palace in support of his reelection one month after the presidential vote, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Protesters clash with police during demonstrations against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection, the day after the vote in Caracas, Venezuela, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
