Wheel of Fortune delivered an excellent on-air moment recently when Pat Sajak shared the arguably amusing anecdote about faking a heart attack every time his wife blows out the candles on her birthday cake. The story earned a rare straight-faced reaction from Vanna White, who was non-enthused by the host’s sense of humor in that case. Fans can get ready to see White enjoying herself for an even rarer occasion soon, as Wheel of Fortune revealed she’ll be serving as a contestant for the first time in her 40 years opposite her “TV husband” on the legendary game show. No faked coronaries involved.
Naturally, Vanna White won’t be shifting to the row of contestants for just any old rando episode. Rather, she’ll be one of three hopefuls trying to win their charity big bucks for an upcoming episode of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune that appears to be falling outside the normal seasonal releases. And who are the other two hopefuls who are also hoping to win out for charitable reasons?
Why, none other than current Jeopardy! co-hosts Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik! The pair of quiz show hosts, who have swapped places more than once this year already, will be joining Vanna White for what’s being dubbed the “Ultimate Host Death Match For The Ages.” Wait, no, I take that back. It’s just called “Ultimate Host Night,” which definitely makes more sense for plenty of reasons.
The upcoming episode of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune will air on Wednesday, May 10, at 9:00 p.m. ET, following that week’s installments of Jeopardy! Masters, so viewers will surely be getting their fix of the latter show’s hosts. As far as who the charities will be, Vanna White will be playing for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Ken Jennings will be playing for Equal Justice Initiative, and Mayim Bialik will be playing for Mental Wealth Alliance.
The announcement from ABC only noted that Pat Sajak would be hosting the episode, but didn’t note who would be taking White’s place in front of the puzzleboard. We can assume with confidence that daughter Maggie Sajak will be a top choice, but perhaps another familiar face will step in.
Recent years have seen Pat Sajak’s potential retirement discussed on occasion, with the longtime host sometimes sounding like he’s readying an exit, but mostly just playing it coy about how many more years he thinks he’ll be around. Will Vanna be the one to step up and make a return to hosting, which she took on whenever Sajak was out for health reasons a few years ago.
The most recent episode of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune to air on ABC featured Abbott Elementary’s Emmy-winning queen Sheryl Lee Ralph, Janelle James, and Chris Perfetti, and happened back on January 4. (Which can be streamed with a Hulu subscription.) So perhaps this is just a game show snack to tide over fans until Season 4’s premiere date is revealed amidst the 2023 TV schedule.
