Wheel of Fortune timeline (syndicated)/Season 42

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A timeline for Season 42 of Wheel of Fortune, which will air in first-run from September 9, 2024 through June 6, 2025.

Season changes

• Starting from the fifth taping day, the set is overhauled:
  • The puzzle board now has a thin neon blue edge. It is also fitted with a new golden border, consisting of 90 "wedges" in alternating shades of gold. It has two hollow golden illuminated wheels behind it, resembling the 1995-97 puzzle board border. The lights flash clockwise when a puzzle is solved.
  • There is now a door at center stage through which the hosts walk. It is a blue oval within an illuminated blue-and-white oval frame with a blue lining. When not in use, the door doubles as a video screen, with the beams of the frame "radiating" in blue and white patterns.
  • The contestant backdrop is also two hollow golden illuminated wheels, resembling those behind the puzzle board.
  • The base of the Wheel is now black with blue light beams, although they do not appear between the arrows.
  • The Wheel and contestant area are now considerably closer to the puzzle board. As a result, the front row of the middle portion of the audience is removed.
  • There is an illuminated two-row logo in a gold oval at stage left.
  • The floor is illuminated blue and white, with a wheel-like motif.
  • The contestant arrows are now cyan when not in use, and change to the color of the contestant's scoreboard whenever that contestant is in control.
  • The Bonus Wheel's lights are changed to turquoise, and they chase in a perpendicular pattern as it spins. The lighted dome in the center is replaced with a solid gold beveled circle, similar to the one used in Season 19, and the Bonus Wheel now sits on a solid black cone-shaped stand, which itself stands atop a round platform that is appended to the Wheel's base exclusively for the Bonus Round.
  • Ryan now stands to the contestant's right (viewer's left) throughout the Bonus Round, as Pat Sajak did during Seasons 3 and 4 of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.
• During the Toss-Ups and Speed-Up rounds, the puzzle board is now at the top and the contestants at the bottom. The category now appears at the top of the screen, and each contestant in a gold box which lights up in their podium color when they ring in. When a Toss-Up is solved, the contestant's score appears in a rectangle below their box. During Speed-Up rounds, the boxes "glow" during each contestant's turn.
• Several other graphic changes are made, all on the fifth week of taping:
  • The opening graphic features the two-row logo zooming into place against a number of colored wedges, with several white-on-blue wheels in the background.
  • The category strips are now translucent black with an opaque gold border.
  • The Bankrupt and Lose a Turn graphics on the scoreboards now have white spots behind them.
  • The Mystery Round wipe is re-done with the current set.
  • The drop down score graphics return to full-color rectangles, but they are noticeably smaller.
  • The Final Spin wipe is now a portion of a blue spinning wheel with "Final" on one wedge and "Spin" on another.
  • The category strips during the Bonus Round are now two inlaid golden ovals with connecting lines.
• Prize Puzzles revert to being themed to the prize in some fashion.
• There are no longer any plugs between the closing chat and credits, which begin rolling when Ryan and Vanna sign off. This means that for the first time since Season 23, there is no longer a split-screen during the closing chat.
• The audience now applauds when returning from commercial before Round 3.
• For all but the first two weeks of the season, one episode per week has no break between the end of the Bonus Round and the closing chat.
• Throughout the season, two-word Toss-Ups and bonus puzzles use only one line far more commonly than in seasons past.

September 2024

• September 9 is Season Premiere Week, taped July 25. During this week:
  • The Bonus Round is sponsored by LG. In response to this, contestants are given G in the Bonus Round in addition to RSTLNE, and $10,000 cash is added to every prize won in the Bonus Round. During the Bonus Round, RSTLNE appears before a wipe with the LG logo on a black background appears and the letters change to RSTLGNE, with the L and G closer to each other than the others. In a seemingly deliberate choice, every bonus puzzle this week has a G in it.
  • Home viewers may enter each day's bonus puzzle on the show's website for a chance to win prizes, which vary each day.
• On September 9:
  • Ryan Seacrest hosts for the first time. He opens the show with a short speech welcoming viewers.
  • Due to Monday Night Football, all ABC affiliates in the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones air Wheel in primetime slots following the game. Unlike the previous three season premieres, the show airs in its entirety in all impacted markets.
  • Jim introduces Ryan and Vanna with "And now, together for the first time, here are the stars of our show: Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White!"
  • Appropriately, the $1,000 Toss-Up is OPENING NIGHT.
  • The NFL Prize wedge from last season's NFL Superfan Tournament is placed on the green $500 next to the pink $600. It awards two passes to any NFL game of the contestant's choice and is worth $2,500. Unlike other Prize wedges, it does not award $500 per consonant when picked up.
  • In Round 1, contestant Corina forgets to pick up the Wild Card. In-studio, she and Ryan reach over to the card after her next spin and struggle to pick it up, a clip shown in promos but edited out of the actual show. Corina picking up the card is reshot and inserted in post-production on the turn where she earned it, though the card reappears on the Wheel during her second spin.
  • After Round 2, there is a "season kickoff puzzle" which reveals in the style of a Toss-Up (including the music), accompanied by Jim saying, "How quickly can you solve tonight's season kickoff puzzle?" After the answer fills in, he says, "Touchdown! Wheel of Fortune will be right back."
  • There is a jump cut to Ryan when contestant Terry gives a wrong answer on the first Triple Toss-Up.
  • ABC airings feature an alternate closing segment in which Ryan promotes Monday Night Football.
• On September 10:
  • Wheel is pre-empted in most Mountain and Pacific Time Zone markets by the 2024 Presidential Debate, although most affiliates schedule the show in primetime slots following the debate.
  • In Round 2, 16 turns are lost, 12 of which are consecutive. However, nine turns are edited out as part of three "null" cycles (with the latter two occurring consecutively), itself tying the record for the most known in one round. Ryan makes several exasperated comments throughout the round implying the edits, including, "This has never happened before on Wheel of Fortune", a clip shown in promos but not aired. Overall, the lost turns consist of nine wrong consonants (one of which is repeated), one wrong vowel, four Bankrupts (one of which is from the Mystery Wedge), and two Lose a Turns.
  • A fourth "null" cycle is edited out at the start of Round 3.
  • As the Prize Puzzle offers a trip to the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, Ryan announces after the copy that a home viewer may win a trip to the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball in Los Angeles by entering a form on the show's website.
• On September 11:
  • There is an additional Prize on the green $500 next to the purple $600, offering $10,000 from Health-Ade Kombucha. Like the NFL Prize on Monday, it does not offer $500 per consonant.
  • Jim appears on-camera to promote Health-Ade Kombucha after Ryan mentions the above.
  • The Speed-Up begins with a "null" cycle that is not edited out, although a second one is edited out later in the round.
  • Contestant Samantha solves the Speed-Up IF YOU KNOW YOU KNOW with only the K's and N's showing.
  • The Bonus Round is spoiled two days in advance when a clip of it (including the puzzle and outcome) is shown on Good Morning America on September 9, as well as during an interview with Ryan and Vanna on Minneapolis affiliate WCCO-TV on September 10. The outcome is also spoiled in the daily promo, but not the winning contestant or puzzle.
• On September 12:
  • After contestant Caitlin wins a trip to New Orleans through the Prize Puzzle, Ryan gives her two free tickets to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour stop in that city.
  • For the first time, both What Are You Doing? and What Are You Wearing? are offered as category choices in the Bonus Round.
• On September 13:
  • The Round 1 puzzle AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE is only the second Proper Name since Season 27 to be something other than a person's name, sports team, or college name.
  • Contestant Derek wins a trip to Vanna's hometown of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in the Prize Puzzle. Vanna joins Ryan at his podium to congratulate Derek.
• September 16 is Jetsetters Week, taped July 26. During this week:
  • A graphic with the week's theme now appears on both the doors and the base of the Wheel.
  • Several rectangular, postcard-like graphics are around the set, two of which are inside the contestant backdrop.
• On September 16:
  • There is a cold open with Ryan and Vanna standing in front of the puzzle board, followed by a montage of both of them being prepared by wardrobe and makeup mixed with fast-motion shots of the set being prepared. ABC affilites instead show a cold open with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman promoting Monday Night Football.
  • There is a $1,000,000 loss. Unusually, the shot cuts back to the puzzle board after Ryan opens the envelope.
• On September 18:
  • Four consecutive penalty spaces are hit in Round 1 (three Bankrupts and Lose a Turn). The latter three comprise a "null" cycle that is not edited out, due to the Bankrupts not claiming anything. Overall, Bankrupt is hit six times, tying the record for the most known in one round.
  • There is no credit roll, just Bellamie's producer credit and disclaimers.
• On September 19:
  • Contestant Troy spins over the Final Spin bells due to Ryan not hearing them at first. There is a pause in recording while the producers determine how to handle this, and it is ultimately decided to count his spin as the value of the Final Spin.
  • The bonus puzzle HIGH-END FASHION is a rare instance of What Are You Wearing? consisting solely of a descriptive term.
• On September 20:
  • Vanna wears a suit.
  • During Round 3, there are two editing errors. The category strip shows Same Letter (the category of Round 1) instead of Living Things, and the reflection of the puzzle board in the floor lighting shows Vanna walking across the board despite her staying in place during the actual shot.
  • For the first time since April 26, a Bonus Round puzzle is a singular word that is not a compound word or a word ending in -ING (DOLPHINS).
• September 23 is Teacher's Week, taped June 10. During this week:
  • The Season 39-41 set and graphics are used due to taping order.
  • All of the Prizes are sponsored by Road Scholar.
  • Before Round 3 on Monday-Wednesday, there is a bumper of one of the teachers' students wishing them good luck.
• On September 23, the Speed-Up (FINISHING IN FIRST PLACE) is categorized as Event instead of What Are You Doing?, due to the Triple Toss-Ups being What Are You Doing?
• On September 24, Jim appears on-camera before Round 1.
• On September 25:
  • Contestant Reneé is only the third known contestant to have an accent mark on their name tag.
  • The Round 2 puzzle DRAWINGS PAINTINGS SCULPTURES is inexplicably missing the word AND.
  • Kari appears to leave off the final S when solving the Round 3 puzzle VACATION KEEPSAKES, but this is not noticed. This does not affect the outcome, as she does not win.
• On September 26:
  • Contestant Kristen fails to claim $20,600 in Round 4.
  • There is a $100,000 loss.
  • Against normal practice, the closing theme is not back-timed to end with the credits.
• On September 27, Jim appears on-camera during the contestant interviews.
• September 30 is the BetMGM Big Winners Tournament, taped August 14. During this week:
  • During the opening, there is a post-production shot of the Wheel spinning on its own. However, instead of reinstating the automation which was retired in 1997, this shot was achieved by having a stagehand spin the Wheel.
  • All of the Prize Puzzle trips are to various hotels in Las Vegas.
  • The BetMGM Jackpot mechanic from BetMGM Big Money Week in Season 41 is used; however, it starts at $5,000 instead of $8,000. There is no Double Jackpot wedge, and as the bonus round was lost the first four days of the week, it's unknown if players would win the daily jackpots in addition to what they spun.
  • A BetMGM Free Spin token is used, which works exactly like the Free Spin token, placed over the green $500 next to the orange $900. This token does award $500 per letter. Also, another BetMGM Free Spin token is placed on the wheel if it was picked up in a previous round.
  • The Crosswords are not played.
  • The Friday Finals format is used, with the three high-scorers playing for a chance to win the cumulative jackpot built up during the week. Because of this, the Million-Dollar Wedge is not used, and the winner still spins the Bonus Wheel for a home viewer.
• On September 30, eight consecutive turns are lost in Round 1 (an incorrect R, Bankrupt, Lose a Turn, incorrect H, Lose a Turn, two more Bankrupts, and an incorrect M). Despite the former two Bankrupts not taking anything away and therefore comprising two consecutive "null" cycles, none of the turns are edited out.

October 2024

• On October 1, a "null" cycle is not edited out of the Speed-Up.
• On October 2:
  • A "null" cycle is not edited out of Round 2 (an incorrect M, Lose a Turn, and an incorrect C).
  • None of Same Name, Before & After, or Same Letter are used.
• October 7 is Girlfriend Getaways, taped June 6. During this week:
  • The Season 39-41 set is used due to being taped out of order.
  • On Monday-Wednesday, the Prize Puzzles are not themed to the week.
• On October 9:
  • Jim appears on-camera after Round 2.
  • For the second time this season, the bonus puzzle is a singular word that is not a compound word or a word ending in -ING (BEGONIAS).
  • There is a $100,000 loss.
• On October 10:
  • Vanna wears a sleeveless top and pants.
  • Contestants Hallie and Nickie solve the second Triple Toss-Up puzzle MR. WRONG with only the G showing.
  • The Speed-Up puzzle PHOTO SHOOT has only one vowel.
• On October 11:
  • The Round 1 puzzle RUBIES DIAMONDS EMERALDS is missing an ampersand or AND.
  • When contestants Hanna and Laura call P on Express in Round 3, a question mark appears in the letter circle due to the judges and Ryan not knowing what letter they called.
  • A total of $36,000 is unclaimed in the Speed-Up.
• October 14 is Great Outdoors week.
• On October 14, contestant Morgan finishes second with $21,000.
• October 21 is Halloween week.
• October 28 is the first week of sixth episodes.
  • On October 29 and 30, the Season 39-41 set is used due to being taped out of order.

November 2024

• November 4 is Bright Lights, Big City, taped May 21. During this week, the Season 39-41 set is used due to being taped out of order.
• November 11 is Veterans Week, taped August 15.
• November 18 is LG Home for the Holidays.
• November 25 is Great Escapes, taped June 7. During this week, the Season 39-41 set is used due to being taped out of order.