'Wheel of Fortune' Viewers Slam Latest Episode

Wheel of Fortune viewers have slammed the latest episode, with many saying the bonus puzzle was miscategorized and others criticizing the show's contestants.

On Wednesday night Laura Young, Spencer Morris and Briantae Maddox competed to win the show's cash prize. It was Young who made it to the bonus round, but sadly lost out on a prize of $100,000—but the category has drawn criticism from fans.

Young opted for the category "Place" for the final puzzle and spun for a prize wedge, selecting the letters "CDPO." Host Pat Sajak, who has helmed the long-running game show since 1981, said Young's choices weren't great, as they failed to reveal any new letters on the board.

She was faced with a puzzle reading "_R _ _EL " "_ L _ _ _ _" and struggled to figure out the answer when the 10-second timer started. While Young assumed there would be another vowel, she unfortunately couldn't work it out in time.

Sajak told her the puzzle answer was "Gravel Walkway" before revealing Young had missed out on winning $100,000, the highest prize on the wheel. The audience gasped in response and Sajak said he felt "terrible."

"No way you were gonna solve that puzzle with the letters you had," he said.

Despite her loss, Young did manage to walk away with $19,250.

The members of the studio audience weren't the only ones shocked by the turn of events, as people watching at home took to X, formerly Twitter, to argue that "Gravel Walkway" didn't make sense in the "Place" category.

Newsweek emailed Sony Pictures Television, which owns Wheel of Fortune, for comment Thursday.

"I would think a 'gravel walkway' would be a 'thing', and not a 'place,'" one person wrote.

"I've got beef with whoever makes the final puzzles on #WheelofFortune. I'd consider gravel walkway to be a 'thing' and not a place. The answers have been whack this week," said another.

"@WheelofFortune You don't know the difference between a place and a Thing!! Gravel Walkway is NOT a place. Wrong!!" someone else commented.

A fourth person added: "Gravel walkway is a 'place' ??? Since when?"

This isn't the only complaint that viewers had of Wednesday night's episode, as others weren't impressed by the fact that the contestants struggled to figure out some of the answers.

During the "Occupation" round, Young, Spencer and Maddox had difficulty solving the puzzle, with the answer being, "Hollywood tour guide."

One X user shared a screenshot of the board and wrote: "Come on people! What was so difficult?"

The trio also struggled to get to the answer in the "Speed-up" round, with the answer being, "Victory celebration."

"This was a painful episode," one person wrote alongside a short video from the round.

"Oh hell yeah, Wheel of Fortune brought the dummies back," said another.

Someone else added: "This is possibly the single worst round of #WheelOfFortune I've ever seen. Mind numbingly dumb."

In June 2023, Sajak announced in a post on X that he would be retiring at the end of Season 41, which started in September.

"Well, the time has come. I've decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It's been a wonderful ride, and I'll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it'll keep the clickbait sites busy!)" Sajak wrote at the time.

Just days after Sajak made his announcement and after much speculation about his replacement, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest was named as Wheel of Fortune's next host.

Seacrest revealed his new role in an Instagram post in which he praised longtime host Sajak and shared his excitement about joining "the great" Vanna White on the show.

White, who has co-hosted Wheel of Fortune since 1982, recently extended her contract to remain on the show through the 2025-26 season after negotiating for her first pay raise in 18 years, according to Deadline.