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Fans of “Wheel of Fortune” criticize new set: “An abomination”

Ryan Seacrest took over as host of “Wheel of Fortune” from Pat Sajak on September 9, and fans are having mixed reactions to the changes brought by the latest chapter of the cult show.

Seacrest takes over Sajak's role. Sajak retired in June after appearing on the show for more than 40 years. And when Seacrest and co-host Vanna White appeared on their first show together, it was clear that the set had been remodeled and given a more modern look.

In an interview with USA Today, White said the renovations on set were “like renovating your house after 40 years.”

“It still feels like home, but it's a little bit modernized,” she told the outlet.

However, after the show debuted this week, some fans weren't so sure about the new look.

“I understand Wheel of Fortune replaced Pat Sajak because he retired, but why did they have to change the entire set?! #WheelOfFortune,” @SimchaG wrote in a tweet.

“I don't mean to be negative, but I absolutely hate what they did with the Wheel of Fortune set,” wrote @ET2U. “It feels like one of those weird international versions of the show. Very distracting.”

There were a few things that seemed to have upset longtime fans. First, some were unhappy with the set's new screens – many of which are blue throughout the show.

“The new one is awful, awful lines, bright lines, it's awful, it almost hurts your eyes!!,” one person wrote in a Wheel of Fortune subreddit thread about the set. “How could they do this, this is an abomination, stop it!”

“They devalued the show and obviously saved a lot of money, but didn't change anything behind the scenes. Bad idea, bad, bad. Not only did they replace a wonderful commentator, they changed the set and ruined it!”

“Looks terrible on (our) OLED TV,” replied another fan. “Something's not right. Too much blue. Definitely too much gold.”

“The new set looks like a cheap green screen with a lot of bright blue,” wrote another. “Looks too cheesy.”

Fans were also upset with the way the show handled the “Toss Up” challenges. Previously, players were shown at the top of the screen, but now the three contestants are shown in separate boxes at the bottom.

“This weird new (toss up) setup features a 90's computer game version of Wheel of Fortune,” @RyanMoyer10 wrote in a tweet.

@WheelRob10 posted a screenshot of the computer game in response.

In the Wheel of Fortune Reddit thread, fans also complained about the apparent delay between when White touches the letter board and when the letters appear.

“What's wrong with the letter board? Vanna (White) is touching it and there's a very annoying delay,” one person wrote. “Yuck!”

The popular show has not publicly responded to fan complaints about the new set.


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