ABC Canceling Fan-Favorite Game Show?
ABC has yet to renew the game show spin-off Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, which could suggest the series will be canceled.
A fan-favorite spin-off (pun intended) of one of the world’s most famous game shows may not be renewed for a new season at ABC. According to The Sun, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune has not yet been greenlit to renew. Since several other shows like Press Your Luck, Celebrity Family Feud, and Claim to Fame have all been announced by the network to be returning for another season, it’s not looking good.
Ratings and viewership for Celebrity Wheel of Fortune have declined over the last year. The third season of the game show, which debuted last September, saw a 10 percent decrease in viewership compared to previous seasons, with only 3.49 million people tuning in to watch their favorite celebrities spin the world’s most famous wheel for charity. In comparison, the latest season of Celebrity Family Feud, hosted by Steve Harvey, saw a viewership of 5.17 million television watchers.
While the lack of news around Celebrity Wheel of Fortune’s renewal date is not necessarily a death sentence for the show, it doesn’t look good. Not only has ABC already announced that the network is bringing back several similar shows and excluded this celebrity game show spin-off from the list, but executives at the company have also announced the cancelation of some of their biggest shows, including the 1980s-based sitcom The Goldbergs, which has run for 10 seasons. ABC also announced the cancelation of the drama A Million Little Things, which ended after five seasons.
Although the network seems to be joining the throng of production companies (like Disney, HBO, and Netflix) handing out cancelations to popular shows as if it were free candy, there is still hope for fans of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune. Many other popular ABC shows have yet to be given an official renewal announcement, even though they are expected to return. New seasons of Grey’s Anatomy – Station 19, The Rookie: Rookie Feds, and The Good Doctor have not been announced, but Hollywood trade Deadline expects that each of these shows will see another season.
Pat Sajak and Vanna White host Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, as well as hosting the popular syndicated version. Like the original show, Jim Thornton is also the announcer for the celebrity version.
Each episode of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune features three celebrities who play two rounds of the famous wheel-spinning-word-puzzle-solving game in order to try and win up to a million dollars that will get donated to a charity. The latest season saw celebrities like Lauren Ash, Tiki Barber, Snoop Dogg, Mark Duplass, Ron Funches, Nikki Glaser, Carla Hall, Jim Jefferies, Thomas Lennon, Kevin McKidd, Tig Notaro, Phil Rosenthal, Kristen Schaal, Amanda Seales, and Jet Tila appear on the show.
While Celebrity Wheel of Fortune has seen a decline in ratings and viewership, the game show doesn’t cost much to produce and still performs fairly well overall. This means that, despite not having been announced for renewal, there is a good chance the show might still see a return.
