When “Wheel of Fortune” began filming this summer, it marked the first time in 40 seasons that the announcer’s announcement, “Ladies and gentlemen, here are the stars of our show…” wasn’t followed by the names of Pat Sajak and Vanna White. Instead, Ryan Seacrest waited backstage, arm in arm with White as they prepared to open the doors to the new LED wall so they could stroll through and spin the wheel.

“We have the same doors on ‘American Idol’ — and the same door operator,” Seacrest says when asked what was going through his mind. “So you literally look like you’re behind the same set, because the back is just screens and plugs.”

Of course, Seacrest is a veteran radio and TV host, having stepped into the shoes of broadcasting legends like Casey Kasem, Dick Clark and Regis Philbin, hosting everything from New Year’s Eve broadcasts to morning shows. But on that first day of taping “Wheel,” he was nervous. He wanted to show the studio audience and the Wheel watchers at home.

“It was about making sure it was received in a way that made sense to people and felt natural,” Seacrest says.

It helped that White, a friend of 20 years, was by his side — though she was nervous for him, too. “Because he has a tough job,” White says. “He rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed and really pushed himself to get it right. And he did it.”

Suzanne Prete, president of game shows at Sony Pictures Television, was waiting on the other side of the door, her iPhone poised to film the action for her boss, Sony Pictures Entertainment president and COO Ravi Ahuja, who was out of the country on the big day.

“Everyone worked so hard to get to that moment,” Prete recalls. “The tension is building and it’s palpable.” Before she hit send, she checked the tape. “You could hear me snorting. It was emotional,” Prete adds. “It was a once-in-a-career event to have Ryan Seacrest fill Pat Sajak’s big shoes, and for it to be so seamless, and for him to be so good. I’m pinching myself.”

The stakes were high for everyone. When Sajak announced his retirement last June, Seacrest was Sony Pictures Television’s “No. 1 choice” to take over. Seacrest had just left “Live With Kelly and Ryan,” freeing up space in his already busy schedule. And with one final season to shoot, Sajak had a year to prepare.

“It’s a full circle and it’s important to me,” Seacrest says of his tenure as host of “Wheel.” In the ’90s, show creator Merv Griffin hired him to host “Click,” a teen game show. Back then, Seacrest would pick Griffin’s brain over lunch by the Beverly Hilton pool. One day, the topic of “Wheel” came up, and the TV mogul explained what made the show so special.

“He told me it was something that could last forever, because it’s a simple show that people love to be on. You can have a busy, stressful, hectic day and sit down and take your mind off everything. He said that’s the most important ingredient,” Seacrest recalled. “At no point in that conversation did I think I would get the chance to host.”

Seacrest, always a dedicated student, pored over the archives of more than 8,000 “Wheel” episodes, watching hundreds of shows and cherry-picking moments from every decade to learn the nuances of the game. Executive producer Bellamie Blackstone also built a miniature version of the wheel (about the size of an SUV tire), and they practiced in conference rooms around the country while Seacrest traveled for work.

“They brought in a computer with a screen with the board and all the sound effects so I could get a feel for it,” he says. The full-size wheel is harder to operate than it looks. “It’s heavy. I almost fell over trying to spin it.”

Seacrest also visited the set to watch Sajak and White at work, observing the well-oiled machine that is “Wheel.” The crew films six episodes a day with only the time needed for the hosts to change their wardrobes and welcome a new trio of contestants.

“Wow, they don’t miss a beat. I don’t want to slow them down,” Seacrest thought. “It’s hard to go into a brand new show where everything is slow and you have to put it all together and figure it out,” he explains. “If it’s not live, which I really love, then this is the kind of tape show you want because there are no kinks that haven’t been worked out.”

That was one of a handful of times Seacrest got to ask Sajak for advice on the transition. Sajak kept it simple: “Vanna is the best to work with. It’s the best show on TV. You’re just going to walk people through a game while they win money. There’s not too much to think about.” (White’s advice was equally simple: “Be yourself and have fun.”)

Seacrest was optimistic about White’s continued involvement with “Wheel.” They first met at Griffin’s funeral in 2007, where they sat next to each other, and developed a casual friendship in the years that followed. When Seacrest began talks about joining the show, White was in the midst of her own contract negotiations.

“As a producer and as a host, I didn’t want to do it with anyone other than Vanna. It was crucial for me to have her on the show for as long as she wanted,” Seacrest says. “And certainly for the launch — two different people at once would be too much of a change. I made it very clear that it would be a mistake if they didn’t have her on board.”

(White eventually extended her contract through the 2025-2026 season. “I wasn’t ready to retire. I have at least two more years on the show and we’ll see what happens after that,” she says Variety.)

Seacrest certainly seemed to have his wheel work down by mid-August, when Variety visited the set when he and White filmed episodes that will air during Veterans Day week. The Sony soundstage was decorated with an American flag motif on the LED wall and panels on the sides of the wheel and on the floor below. It’s all part of the Art Deco-inspired redesign — a throwback to the early years of “Wheel.”

“By the time Ryan walked on set, he was so prepared that he could just do what he does best and connect with those contestants in a really authentic way,” Prete says. “He’s really fun. He’s really delivered on that front. It’s just a whole new energy.”

Seacrest has calibrated just the right amount of exuberance when contestants land on the million-dollar wedge and dismay when they bust on the next spin, so that it all flows effortlessly. It’s remarkable how much energy he seems to have. (It was exhausting to sit down for half a day to film, let alone host round after round. Two hours of clapping for “big money” takes a lot out of you.)

“Good – wheel — I’ll be right back,” Seacrest says, grinning as he makes a lame pun for a commercial break. He looks like he’s having the time of his life.

The “Wheel” team is also leaning in. At a time when linear TV ratings are declining, there’s pressure to maintain the syndicated game show’s strong nightly averages (more than 20 million viewers tune in each week). So when the team was developing promotional materials for the new season, they realized that “RSTLNE,” the group of letters given to contestants to kick off the bonus round, would make a fitting acronym: “Ryan Seacrest to Launch a New Era.” Then on Friday night, Seacrest and White lit up the famous Ferris wheel on the Santa Monica Pier with an interactive display of laser projectors that transformed the landmark into the iconic spinning wheel.

“I thought, ‘That’s a really clever and memorable way to do it that’s organic to the show,'” Seacrest says of the promo. “And I hope it’s a long-term thing. I’ve signed on to do a lot, a lot of year of this show.” How much? “As much as you can get.”

Season 42 of “Wheel of Fortune” begins airing on September 9. It is distributed nationally by CBS Media Ventures and internationally by Paramount Global Content Distribution, both divisions of Paramount.