'Wheel of Fortune' accidentally leaks new puzzle board in first poster of Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White

WHEEL of Fortune gets a new face ahead of Ryan Seacrest’s debut as host.

The series' upcoming 42nd season marks the beginning of a new era for Wheel of Fortune after longtime host Pat Sajak officially retires on June 7, 2024.

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Producers have promised that the now iconic set of Wheel of Fortune will look completely different than fans may remember when the CBS show returns to screens next month.

Now it has been revealed that one of the biggest differences will be the look of the show's puzzle board, after Wheel of Fortune accidentally leaked its new look on Wednesday, August 20.

The show's central set looks bigger and better, surrounded by a shiny new border of gold tiles, as seen in the first poster of Ryan and Vanna White as the new co-hosts of “Wheel of Fortune.”

Photos posted on BuzzerBlog's X account showed the new puzzle board on a staircase with rounded edges (as opposed to the previous rectangular steps) in front of a brightly lit teal screen.

It is still unclear whether the changes are purely aesthetic or whether they also include functional improvements.

Mixed reactions

The new puzzle board design left fans with mixed feelings, with one X-user writing, “It's definitely… interesting, to say the least.”

Another comment said: “I miss the old episode with Pat, nothing can replace the original host for me.”

A third person disagreed and shouted: “I love it!”

“Judging by this and the previously leaked video, the new frontier looks like a mashup between those from the 70s and 80s,” noted a fourth fan.

The puzzle board that displays the Wheel of Fortune answers has seen several different versions over the years.

The biggest change was announced in 2022 for Wheel of Fortune's 40th anniversary, when the developers controversially revealed that the puzzle board would no longer be controlled by Vanna.

The central LED display with a screen replaced the previous board with individual television monitors that displayed the correct answer letter by letter.

Instead of being activated by Vanna's touch, the new puzzle board was remotely controlled using laser technology, the show's executive producer Bellamie Blackstone revealed at the time.

“The technology behind Vanna's interaction with it is also used in self-driving cars. It is also used in the Mars rover” – it's called LIDAR.

“We can put our logo or any graphic, we can also change it [back] to the puzzle board,” she added.

The new, technologically advanced board received mixed reactions from fans at the time. One wrote: “It's like a Wheel of Fortune version of an iPad.”

Enigmatic remarks

Previously, the last change to the puzzle board was in 1997, when the physical spinning letter board was taken out of service.

The puzzle changed from print to print and remained so for the next 15 years.

“This is the last night of this puzzle board. You will not be turning any more letters,” Pat said to his co-host, who had been turning the letters herself until then.

“The new board… it's heat activated, so to speak,” he continued, before making a controversial comment: “And if anyone can heat a board, it's you.”

From the 1970s to 1997, the panels of Vanna's puzzle board were physically turned over.

RYAN'S ERA

Earlier this month, fans of Wheel of Fortune got their first taste of the show's new set, including a brand new blue background with the show's logo.

When Pat Sajak co-hosted with Vanna, the background was brown instead of blue.

The new season of Wheel of Fortune will premiere on September 9th.

Ryan said in a statement after announcing his retirement last June that he “truly sees it as a great honor to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak.”

“I can say, like the rest of America, that it was a privilege and a pure joy to have Pat and Vanna (White) on our television screens for 40 unprecedented years, making us smile every night and making us feel at home with them,” the television star said.

“Pat, I love the way you have always celebrated the contestants and made the viewers at home feel good. I look forward to learning all I can from you during this transition,” he added.

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