“And now, together for the first time, here are the stars of our show, Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White!”

With that introduction, Seacrest began a new television chapter as host of Wheel of FortuneDressed in a dark charcoal suit, the former co-host of Live! with Kelly and Ryan stood arm in arm with White as he told her “I’m so happy to be here” before taking his place on the newly remodeled set. (The Wheel of Fortune logo that used to be behind the participants; now there are golden, deco-like images of the Ferris wheel).

“Thank you for the warm welcome,” he said, looking into the camera. “Hosting Wheel of Fortune is a dream job. I’ve been a fan of this show since I was a kid, watching it with my family in Atlanta, and I know how special it is that Wheel has been in your living rooms for the past 40 years. I’m just so grateful to have been invited. I also know that I have some very big shoes to fill.”

He then kicked off the game, just as Pat Sajak had done for 41 seasons.

In addition to hosting, Seacrest will also serve as a consulting producer on the show. Sajak, who won an Emmy on Saturday for his final season on Wheel, has agreed to continue working on the show as an advisor for the next three years.

But judging from the first episode, Seacrest doesn’t seem to need any help. Aside from quickly running through the requisite lines of “let’s win you some money” and “you can get a D,” he chatted effortlessly with the three contestants, even giving the losing contestant a big hug before sending her home with just $4,500.

Seacrest closed the show with White by saying, “We got one (a show) under our belt” and how happy he was that “everybody got to go home with some money. I was really hoping that would happen on my first night, and it did.”

Bellamie Blackstone is an executive producer on the game show.