Inside Ryan Seacrest’s Rigorous ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Prep

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Ryan Seacrest is proving to be a worthy successor to Pat Sajak as host Wheel of Fortune — and he prepared thoroughly for his role.

President of Sony Game Programs, Suzanne Prete spoke with LA Times that the 50-year-old TV mainstay is involved Wheel and gave insight into his preparation.

According to Prete, after the American Idol host was hired, he wanted to understand the game inside and out – so he asked for videos of past shows. As she told Times in an article published on Monday, January 6, Prete noted that she was ready to send him 50 episodes, but he wanted to watch all 8,000.

“He said, ‘No, I want to watch every episode,'” Prete recalled.

Ted Harbert, a former network executive and friend of the former Stay with Kelly and Ryan hosttold the outlet how Seacrest wanted the game to be almost instinctive to him, eliminating room for error.

“He wanted the rules to just be second nature to him,” Herbert noted. “He didn’t want there to ever be a question.”

According to the outlet, the show’s executive producer, Bellamie Blackstone, even flew to Miami to prepare with the Emmy Award winner, bringing a tabletop version of the game and going over many potential scenarios that could arise.

Prete told the outlet that Seacrest was a natural on the job: “When he stepped on set, it was like he’d been doing it his whole life.”

In September was E! alum spoke with CBS Sunday morning about his preparation.

“Wherever I worked, sometimes the producers would come and they’d bring contestants and we’d play Wheel of Fortune in hotels just to get familiar with the rules and the scenarios and things that can happen, so at some point it becomes second nature ,” he shared.

Seacrest also explained that he was immediately on board after being offered the role.

“This is such an incredibly special franchise. It’s more than a TV show. It’s something that means something to people, and when I found out this was an opportunity for me, it was a no-brainer here. It was like, absolutely, let’s figure it out and let’s get going,” he shared.