Thursday, September 09, 2021
Wheel of Fortune Hosts Extend Contracts; Dancing with the Stars Announces Season 30 Cast

As Wheel of Fortune is set to kick off its 39th season on September 13, hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White have signed on to continue hosting the iconic show through the 2023-2024 season. As part of the deal, Pat Sajak has added consulting producer to his responsibilities to the show. Wheel of Fortune announcer Jim Thornton is celebrating his 10th anniversary with the show, and viewers will get to see more of him on-screen this season. At the open of each episode, Jim will now be featured at a new podium on stage as he introduces Pat Sajak and Vanna White. In the game show's digital space, Maggie Sajak, Pat's daughter, will be joining the show as Social Correspondent. As such, Maggie will treat Wheel of Fortune's digital audience to fresh content including exclusive videos, behind-the-scenes access, and interviews with the hosts, staff, crew, and contestants. She will be a presence across all of Wheel of Fortune's channels including: www.wheeloffortune.com, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
On September 13, fans will notice a few upgrades to the game they love. The set and music have been refreshed for the new season, but longtime viewers may recognize the familiar Wheel of Fortune theme song, "Changing Keys," which will return this season with a modernized arrangement. Pat Sajak will no longer do the "Final Spin" of the game. Instead, the contestant in control of the Wheel at the time will spin to determine the amount each consonant is worth during the speed up round. More money will be up for grabs in Season 39 with the removal of the "Free Play" wedge from the Wheel which was replaced by an $850 wedge. Also, a $4,000 bonus is being added to contestants who solve all three puzzles in the Triple Toss Up Round, making the round worth $10,000. And finally, the minimum amount that can be won on the Bonus Wheel has been upped to $39,000, in honor of the show's 39th season in syndication.
ABC's Dancing with the Stars 2021 celebrity cast was announced on ABC's Good Morning America, live from Disney's California Adventure. The series, hosted by supermodel and businesswoman Tyra Banks, returns to the ballroom for its milestone 30th season with a lineup of celebrities including a WWE legend, a Real Housewife, a Bachelor, an Office fave, a country superstar, a 90210 hearthrob, and a Spice Girl, to name a few. The cast joins Suni Lee and JoJo Siwa, both of whom were previously announced at ABC's 2021 TCA Virtual Press Conferences last month. The new celebrity cast will debut their twists, tricks and kicks during the premiere, live on Monday, Sept. 20 from 8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT on ABC. Watch episodes on demand and on Hulu the day following their premieres.
The celebrities and professional dancers heading to the ballroom are as follows (in alphabetical order):
Celebrities:
Country singer Jimmie Allen
Spice Girl Melanie C
Reality star Christine Chiu (Netflix's Bling Empire)
Actor Brian Austin Green (Beverly Hills, 90210)
Actress Melora Hardin (“The Office”)
Social media star Olivia Jade
Reality star Matt James (The Bachelor)
Actress Amanda Kloots (The Talk)
Actor Martin Kove (Netflix's Cobra Kai)
Gold medal Olympian Suni Lee
WWE Superstar Mike "The Miz" Mizanin
Reality star Kenya Moore (The Real Housewives of Atlanta)
Peloton star instructor Cody Rigsby
NBA star Iman Shumpert
Popstar JoJo Siwa
Professional dancers:
Brandon Armstrong
Lindsay Arnold
Alan Bersten
Sharna Burgess
Cheryl Burke
Witney Carson
Artem Chigvintsev
Val Chmerkovskiy
Sasha Farber
Jenna Johnson
Daniella Karagach
Pasha Pashkov
Gleb Savchenko
Emma Slater
Britt Stewart
Viewers will have to tune in to the season premiere to find out with whom their favorite professional dancers are paired. The pairs will be judged by a panel of renowned ballroom experts, including Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Sunday, March 23
Family Guy - "Dog Is My Co-Pilot" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Brian and Quagmire go on a press tour after successfully landing a plane; Chris and Stewie open a boutique pizza place.
Grimsburg - "CrimeCon" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Flute learns that criminals at CrimeCon are celebrated, not the detectives, he decides to prove that celebrity criminal Damien Flesher is not the reformed cannibal he claims to be; Pentos meets the Pentos-tonix.
The Great North - "Can't Hardly Debate Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Aunt Dirt takes a new job at Lone Moose School; Wolf tries to impress Beef.
Krapopolis - "" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
An animated comedy set in mythical ancient Greece, centering on a flawed family of humans, gods and monsters as they try to run one of the world's first cities without killing each other.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 17)
Friday, March 21
- John Mulaney (Mulaney) - Watch John on on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Sterling K. Brown (Starved) - Sterling is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Dana Carvey (One of the Boys) - Dana is a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher at 10pm on HBO.
- The Jonas Brothers (Jonas) - Good Morning America catches up with the Jonas Brothers sometime between 7-9am.
- John Leguizamo (The Brothers Garcia) - John chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Tatyana Ali (Second Generation Wayans/Love That Girl!/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) - Tatyana discusses her off-camera work of helping women have safer births and how she is creating community with her quilt company on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building/Wizards of Waverly Place) - NBC's Today catches up with Selena sometime between 7-9am.
- Michael Urie (Shrinking/Krapopolis/Partners) - NBC's Today catches up with Michael in the 9am hour.
- Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- The Cast of Harlem - Meagan Good, Grace Byers, Jerrie Johnson, Shoniqua Shandai & Tyler Lepley talk about Harlem on Prime Video on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Crazy Ones) - Sarah appears on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Tommy Davidson (The Proud Family/Malcolm & Eddie/Between Brothers) and Mark Curry (One Love/See Dad Run/Hangin' with Mr. Cooper) - Tommy and Mark are guests on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:00am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
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