‘Wheel of Fortune’: See Photos From First Week of Season 44
‘Wheel of Fortune’: See Photos From First Week of Season 44 & Learn More About The ‘Fortune Frenzy’
Season 43 of Wheel of Fortune is set to kick off on Monday, September 14. A new element — Fortune Frenzy — is being added to the game show, and social correspondent Maggie Sajak is explaining more about it.
“This season we’ve got more puzzles than ever, thanks to Fortune Frenzy,” Sajak said in a new clip. “I’m going to show you how it’s done.”
The Fortune Frenzy is like the Toss-Up round, but with more puzzles and timed. Sajak explained that 30 seconds are added to the clock, and the letters populate like a regular Toss-Up. Once the puzzle is solved, the next one populates.
“There is no limit to how many they can solve,” she explained. If a contestant gets it right, they win $1,000. The old Toss-Ups used to consist of two at the beginning of the game for $1,000 and $2,000 and three at the end of the game for $2,000. If all three were solved by the same person, they got $10,000.
If a contestant gets it wrong, a new puzzle populates instead of having the other contestants try to guess it. If all of the letters populate before anyone solves it, they move on to the next puzzle, and no one wins any money. “I hate when that happens,” Sajak said.
“As time is running out, as long as the puzzle shows up and the contestant is buzzing in before the time runs out, they still have time to solve it,” Sajak said. “It gets pretty exciting at the end of Fortune Frenzy.”
Sajak, who interviews contestants after their game and is the daughter of former host Pat, will be back, along with hosts Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White. The show has not yet made an announcement on who will replace Jim Thornton as the announcer. He was fired from the game show after accessing a disturbing website on a plane. He was scrapped from the episodes that were already filmed for the season. Allegedly, there was no replacement for him as of Tuesday. The hosts walked out with no introductions, and there were no announcements.
“I think it shakes the nerves off of the contestants from the top because they’re so excited. The adrenaline is pumping and rushing, and they’ve got to focus right into playing the game, and I noticed that with some of the first episodes,” Seacrest told Good Morning America about the new addition.
See contestants from the first week — Ernesto, Barbara, Anthony, Taylor, and more — above. They all had smiles on their faces as they won money. Plus, White wore a purple sparkly dress for the premiere. Seacrest looked dapper in a black suit.
Wheel of Fortune, Season 43, weekdays starting September 14, check local listings
