‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Baffled After Show Goes Back to Its Old Set

Wheel of Fortune’s new season has brought changes across the (puzzle) board, the most obvious being new host Ryan Seacrest.

But viewers have noticed a completely unexplained change: Season 42’s gleaming new set — which received mixed reviews upon arrival — went away this week.

For the now-airing Girlfriend Getaways special, the game show returned to its old version, the one Pat Sajak and Vanna White used.

A fan began a thread in the WoF Subreddit on Friday (October 11) titled: “Old Set?”

They continued: “Why is the old set being used for the current week (Girlfriend Getaways)? I greatly prefer the old set to the new set – it’s just very interesting that it’s still in use?”

“Continuity error?” commented one fan.

But that’s not so.

“The first episodes taped with Ryan Seacrest were on the old set before they renovated it,” a second fan explained. “Not all of the episodes air in the order they were taped in. That’s why there’s a mixture of old and new set episodes.”

“That makes sense,” the OP wrote back. “Thanks for the intel. The new set is so bright and busy. This week makes me miss the old set even more.”

Indeed, the new season was taped out of order. WoF has quietly been alternating between its old, logo-laden, set and its new aqua-blue set week by week. In other words, when episodes air compared to when they were taped got shuffled around for the first few months of the season based on producer discretion. This could be because the new set was still being built when Seacrest started and they wanted it for his big premiere, or so he could get some reps in before the episodes that were advertised as his first.

Other fans in the thread got old-set nostalgia and a bit of Wheel whiplash since the show keeps switching back and forth.

“Agree the old set looks so much better than the new,” wrote another fan.

“If you have Twitter or any other social media, politely tag the show and let them know what you think. I also find the new set too busy,” wrote a fifth.

“Do people really think they’ll go back to the old set? it literally doesn’t exist anymore,” explained a sixth.

“It’s called…. REBUILDING,” a seventh joked.

One more wrote: “Yeah, no. They would probably make adjustments to the set first-which they already have as the weekly themes tone down the blue colors. They’re not going to change or rebuild the set because of a small minority…most people don’t care or like the current set.”

The very first episodes that Seacrest taped will air in November, and the old set will be on air for a few more week-long chunks before it’s laid to rest in airtime. The old set most certainly does not exist anymore, and fans should enjoy it while it lasts.

Here’s a fan-made schedule for the old and new sets:

Meanwhile, WoF viewers are warming up to Seacrest, who officially replaced Sajak as the nightly host after four decades last month. He’s kept ratings high with the strongest week in five years for the Season 42 debut.

That said, the transition hasn’t been letter-perfect. Last Friday, fans called out the host for an on-air blunder they dubbed his “first blooper”, which involved a delayed reaction to a jackpot win.

And, not unlike during Sajak’s reign, there have been some backlash-causing bonus puzzles; one that cost two gal pals $100,000 and another that fans flat-out called “unfair” (Cashew Nuts?). Unlike the host or set, some things never change!

Wheel of Fortune, Weeknights, Check your local listings