Ken Jennings Reveals Why Ryan Seacrest ‘Frustrates’ Him & Sweet Link With Vanna White

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What is… Ken Jennings dishing on Ryan Seacrest? The Jeopardy! host has been talking about his neighbors who work on Wheel of Fortune. The two long-running game shows are filmed next door to each other at the Sony Studio Lot in Los Angeles.

He shared some information about Ryan Seacrest and his cohost, Vanna White, including why Seacrest “frustrates” him, and his sweet link with Vanna – they share a stylist. He also confessed that he was glad Seacrest didn’t try out for the role of Jeopardy! host, because he might have gotten it. Seacrest currently hosts Wheel, American Idol, his radio show On Air With Ryan Seacrest, and more. He began his hosting career in 1993 and has not slowed down since.

Ken Jennings talked to TV Insider about his time on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? with Matt Damon. During the interview, he opened up about the rival game show hosts as well as how he filmed his cameo in Happy Gilmore 2, out now on Netflix, which took place right on the Sony Studio Lot.

Here’s what he had to say.

Wheel of Fortune films on the same set as Jeopardy!. Have you ever hung out with Ryan Seacrest or Vanna White while on set?

Yeah, they’re on the next stage over. You just have to cross through a little breezeway, and then you’re in. You’re on Wheel’s stage. And I have hung out with both of them. Generally, we don’t tape at the same time because we share a crew with them. So on days when Jeopardy!’s taping, Wheel is usually off, and vice versa. But occasionally, Vanna is there to record something extra, she’ll come by and say hi, because we have the same stylist who does our hair, who does my hair, has done Vanna’s hair for years, and they’re good friends, and she is just the most delightful person, so sweet, unchanged by her decades of being a TV legend. She is the best.

I was recently recording something on a day when Wheel was taping. So, I got to go over and say hi to Ryan, who I had not seen since he took the reins, and, boy, he has just made that transition seamlessly. It’s almost frustrating to see. I was there on the lot working the first day he came into tape the show. I was kind of watching a live feed, and I was just thinking, ‘Wow, this guy is so good on day one.’ It’s not fair. The kind of TV talent that guy has. He’s been in the business for a long time, a total professional. There is no show, no format, I think would rattle Ryan Seacrest, so I’m very glad he has not expressed any interest in Jeopardy!.

You have a cameo in Happy Gilmore 2. What was that like?

It’s exciting because Bob Barker, of course, was in the first one. So it’s a real game show host seal of approval to have the cameo in Happy Gilmore. I have a very short scene they shot on the Jeopardy! set where I play the host of Jeopardy!, so no problem with my acting range there. And there’s a clue about Happy Gilmore. And you’ll have to watch the movie to see how that turns out, but it was very exciting for me. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a feature film. So, I now have a Kevin Bacon number. I don’t know what it is, but I now have one.

Jeopardy!, weeknights, check local listings

Wheel of Fortune, fall 2025, check local listings