Wheel of Fortune timeline (syndicated)/Season 43

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A timeline for Season 43 of Wheel of Fortune, which will air in first-run from September 8, 2025 through June 5, 2026.

Season changes[]

For the first time, first-run episodes are nationally available on streaming: starting the day after airing, each new episode is now available for streaming on Peacock and Hulu for one week.
The Wheel is looser than in Season 42.
$45,000 returns as a Bonus Wheel cash amount, after being absent in Seasons 41 and 42. $55,000 is also added as a new amount.
Ryan begins to wear sweaters on some episodes instead of suits.
Weekend repeats of Season 42 continue to add promotional consideration plugs during the credits. This results in the closing chat not having any credits on screen, as they do not appear until after the plugs. This results in most repeats having extended or alternate footage during the credits compared to their original broadcasts.

September 2025[]

September 8 is WTF (What the Fun), taped August 20. Despite the theme being used in promotions and graphics, and mentioned multiple times on-air, the generic set is used.
On September 8:
- Contestant Lauren mentions that her mother was on the show in 1998.
- Contestant Erica mentions that she entered the Vanna for a Day contest in 2011.
- The Year of Fun Wedge debuts. The first prize it offers is $5,000 cash.
- Three categories debut: What the Fun! in the $1,000 Toss-Up, Show Me a Sign in the Triple Toss-Up, and Act Your Age in Round 4.
- The third Triple Toss-Up CAUTION: WET PAINT is only the second puzzle to contain a colon that is not the title of a work.
- Erica finishes second with $27,900.
- After recapping the scores, in reference to Lauren mentioning that her mother won parting gifts on the show, Ryan gives her a box of fish sticks, a box of Rice-a-Roni, and a bottle of Turtle Wax. All three products, despite being mentioned by name, have their logos covered up.
On September 9:
- There is a cold open with Ryan and Vanna backstage of Ryan and Vanna discussing the week's theme before Ryan finds a children's bicycle, which he then rides onstage as Jim introduces him.
- Contestant Henry is referred to as "Henry III", which is also displayed on his name tag.
- Rounds 1 and 2 are played entirely by the contestants who began them.
- Round 2 is the debut of Risky Business.
- The Year of Fun Wedge is won for the first time.
On September 10:
- After Ryan and Vanna walk out, they mention that Maggie has a surprise and then cover their ears. There is then a clip of Maggie backstage promoting the "Year of Fund$", a special jackpot available to a randomly-drawn Wheel Watchers Club member. The jackpot starts at $1,000 and has $1,000 added every time someone on stage says the word "fun". Maggie appears in clips after Rounds 1, 2, and 4 to update the total.
- Round 3 is the debut of Never Have I Ever.
- The cast of Outlander: Blood of My Blood present the Prize Puzzle; a trip to Scotland.
- Maggie appears again during the closing chat, where she reveals the grand total of $9,000 and fires a money gun while the crowd chants "year of fun".
On September 11, the Prize Puzzle copy includes a trailer for A Big Bold Beautiful Journey.
On September 12, contestant Joe wins $63,018 despite losing the Bonus Round; $25,830 of it is earned in Round 1 alone.
September 15 is Teachers Week, taped April 24. During this week:
- The base of the Wheel is designed to resemble notebook paper with drawings.
- The Year of Fun Wedge offers a year's worth of school supplies, valued at $1,200. It is represented by an oversized tag reading "Supplies" with an image of a school bus, on top of a wedge decorated with images of school supplies.
On September 15:
- All ABC airings are pre-empted due to Monday Night Football beginning at 7:00 PM Eastern instead of the typical 8:00.
- Round 1 is the debut of Old School.
On September 16:
- For the first known time, Vanna wears a tie.
- Contestant Scott solves the second Triple Toss-Up BIOLOGY CLASS with only the Y showing.
On September 17:
- There is a cold open where several different children hold clapperboards and attempt to introduce the show.
- Contestant Donna solves the bonus puzzle WORDS TO LIVE BY despite getting no help from her extra letters.
- The Hulu thumbnail spoils the outcome by showing Donna celebrating on stage with her guest after winning the Bonus Round.
On September 18, the Round 4 puzzle POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE is the third use of Song Title for a composition.
On September 19:
- All three contestants hit Bankrupt consecutively in Round 1.
- Before Round 3, there is a bumper of various students thanking their teachers.
- Rounds 2 and 4 are played entirely by the contestants who began them.
- Contestant Alesha finishes second with $25,682.
- There is a $100,000 win.
- This episode was taped as the sixth episode for the first compilation week. Hulu's thumbnail for this episode initially shows the originally scheduled episode for this date, which spoils the outcome by showing the winning contestant posing in front of the car with Ryan, Vanna, and her guests. The thumbnail is soon changed to a picture of Ryan.
September 22 is Cheers to Fun, taped May 22.
- This week was originally scheduled for the week of October 6, then re-scheduled to September 29, before being swapped with Fall Into Fall week. On Hulu, the placeholders for this week's episodes initially use thumbnails for Fall Into Fall's episodes, but are later corrected.
On September 23:
- The $2,000 Toss-Up is the debut of A Numbers Game.
- Round 4 (IN A PICKLE) is shorter than ten letters.
- Contestant Julio solves the aforementioned puzzle with only the P showing.
- Neither Bankrupt nor Lose a Turn is hit.
On September 24, the $1,000 Toss-Up is the debut of Guilty Pleasure.
On September 25, contestant Dan finishes second with $22,654.
September 29 is Fall into Fall, taped May 21. During this week:
- This week was originally scheduled for the week of September 22.
- Peacock's thumbnails are from Living the Sweet Life week.
- There is no closing chat after any Bonus Round win.
On September 29:
- The Triple Toss-Up is heavily edited, as revealed by a video of the round posted on the show's social media pages that does not feature most of the edits:
  - On the second puzzle, after two contestants ring in with incorrect answers, Ryan immediately prompts the third, Lauren, for an answer. The online video reveals that Lauren gave the answer without ringing in after being prompted by Ryan immediately after the second incorrect answer (which was allowed from Seasons 34-41), and the puzzle completely fills in with the music stopping and the double-buzz sounding before Ryan consults the judges on whether Lauren solved in time. On the aired episode, the ding is dubbed in, and Lauren's window border lights up, making it look as if she rang in (following the precedent established in Season 42). Furthermore, Lauren's buzzer is cropped out of the window shot, the puzzle does not fill in completely, the music continues with no double-buzz, and Ryan consulting the judges is edited out.
  - On the third puzzle (SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE YOUR BOOTY), contestant Rodney is ruled incorrect for only saying "shake" three times instead of four. In the online video, as the puzzle resumes, Ryan says, "No, we didn't get all the 'shakes' there", giving away the answer. On the aired episode, Ryan simply says, "Nope", the audio of which is copied from the second puzzle.
- During the closing, Ryan and Vanna hint that "something big" may happen tomorrow.
On September 30:
- Contestant Scott mentions that his daughter Lucy likes to impersonate Jim when they watch the show at home. After Round 1, she appears with Jim in his booth and throws to commercial break.
- Christina Derevjanik becomes the syndicated version's fourth $1,000,000 winner, and the fifth winner overall. She sets a new syndicated winnings record of $1,035,155 in cash and prizes.
- Christina's win is accidentally leaked on July 18, when the show's Facebook and Instagram accounts post a story with a multiple-choice question asking for the name of the show's highest winner and her name (which is listed with her middle name Marie, and her last name misspelled with two N's) is the accepted answer. The story was taken down about six hours after being posted.
Due to the $1,000,000 win, Monday and Tuesday's episodes are swapped. Following the win on the first episode of the taping, the next taped episode is taped with a closing where Ryan and Vanna hint at the win "in advance", then the episode is moved to air on Monday before the win. The swap may have also been to avoid having the win pre-empted on West Coast ABC affiliates by Monday Night Football. The rescheduling of both the episode and the week as a whole is confirmed in a video from the taping posted by Jim on Facebook, during which he mentions the win will air September 22.

October 2025[]

On October 1:
- A replay of a piece of confetti falling towards the end of the previous round is shown before Round 2.
- No vowels are brought in Rounds 2 and 4.
- Nobody solves the first Triple Toss-Up COFFEE DATE.
On October 2:
- The intro from the beginning of last season is used.
- Ryan, Vanna and Jim sit on a bench at the end while somebody drops leaves on them.
October 6 is Living the Sweet Life, taped April 25.
On October 6, Rounds 1 and 3 are played entirely by the contestants who began them.
On October 9:
- No vowels are bought in Round 3.
- Photos of Ryan, his mom, and waiter Felix at the Atlanta restaurant Chops are displayed on the center video screen at the closing chat.
October 13 is Live More Floridays, taped August 21.
On October 13:
- Starting with this episode, the title card is slightly updated: the colored wedges behind the logo now have brighter colors.
- Round 4 is the debut of Back in the Day.
On October 15:
- Vanna wears a suit.
- The $2,000 Toss-Up is the debut of Pet Life.
- Round 1 is a Crossword Round with only three words.
- Round 4 (FLAMINGOS) is shorter than ten letters.
- The closing chat appears to have been taped after the fact during a different taping session, as it mentions the $1,000,000 win on September 30 (which had taped but not yet aired), and Ryan and Vanna are wearing different outfits. The segment features clips of Christina Derevjanik being interviewed on Good Morning America.
On Saturday, October 19, the weekend repeat begins with the new, brighter title card replacing the original one from Season 42. Subsequent repeats retain the original, darker title card.
October 20 is Great Outdoors, taped September 4.
On October 21:
- Ryan and Vanna do a cold open from Park City, Utah, and then come out wearing pajamas.
- The $2,000 Toss-Up is the debut of Tech Talk on the syndicated version.
On October 22:
- There is a cold open where Ryan tries to play a guitar.
- Nobody solves the third Triple Toss-Up KRYPTO.
- Ryan tries playing the guitar again at the end, but the theme cuts off him off.
On October 23:
- Ryan and Vanna do a cold open from Hilton Hawaiian Village.
- Ryan and Vanna eat s'mores at the end.
On October 24, Round 4 is the debut of Food Fusion.
October 27 is Halloween, taped August 27.
On October 27:
- The Round 4 puzzle CHAIN SAWS AND LAWN MOWERS is misspelled ("chainsaw" should be one word)
- Ryan, Vanna and Jim show off some jack-o'-lanterns at the end.
On October 28:
- Round 1 is the debut of Most Likely To... on the syndicated version.
- Contestant Sean solves the second Triple Toss-Up BACKYARD with only the D showing.
On October 30, a Halloween photo of Ryan dressed as Mickey Mouse is shown at the end.
On October 31:
- No vowels are bought in Round 2.
- Round 2 (REDRUM REDRUM REDRUM REDRUM) has only three unique consonants.
- Ryan, Vanna, Jim and Maggie trick or treat at the end with kids.

November 2025[]

November 3 is a week of sixth episodes.
On November 3, Ryan and Vanna eat key lime pie at the end.
On November 4, nobody solves the $1,000 Toss-Up puzzle MY GAME FACE.
On November 7:
- Round 1 is the debut of Field Trip.
- Contestant Greg solves the second Triple Toss-Up HIPPOPOTAMUS with only the S showing.
- At the end of the main game, Ryan gives Greg a burger and fries from In-N-Out Burger, which Greg stated he had been looking forward to trying on his first trip to West Coast. Ryan and Vanna also eat burgers during the closing.
November 10 is Celebrating Veterans, taped August 22.
November 17 is Now Boarding, taped September 26.
November 24 is the DraftKings Casino Multiplier Tournament, taped August 28.

December 2025[]

December 1 is Secret Santa Week #1, taped October 22.
December 8 is Secret Santa Week #2, taped October 23.
December 15 is Holiday Week, taped October 24.
December 22 is the second week of sixth episodes.
December 29 is Happy New Year Week, taped November 14.

Wheel of Fortune timeline (syndicated)/Season 43

Contents

Season changes[]

September 2025[]

October 2025[]

November 2025[]

December 2025[]

January 2026[]

February 2026[]

March 2026[]

April 2026[]

May 2026[]

June 2026[]