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'Wheel of Fortune' & 'Jeopardy!' Will Start Up Production For New Seasons This Week

Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! are heading back into production, Deadline reports.

According to the site, Sony Pictures Television and CBS Television Distribution announced that both of the long running game shows will start up production again starting this week.

Wheel of Fortune, hosted by Pat Sajak and Vanna White, has redesigned the infamous wheel so the show can “provide proper social distancing between contestants”.

Meanwhile, Jeopardy!‘s stage has undergone a transformation to “allow for more space between the three contestant podiums.”

Host Alex Trebek explained earlier this month how filming was going to happen on the show.

Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! are returning to the studio to tape episodes for the shows’ upcoming seasons. The productions have protocols in place in accordance with current government guidelines to protect contestants, staff, crew and talent from the spread of COVID-19. While some things may have changed behind the scenes and on the set to keep everyone safe, fans can expect to see the same Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! they have come to love when the season starts,” a studio spokeswoman shared in a statement.

Jeopardy! will be filming five episodes a day, two days a week, is expected to be back in the studio this week, while Wheel of Fortune will start next week.

The shows were two of the first shows to shut down due to the pandemic.

'Jeopardy!' & 'Wheel of Fortune' Will Not Tape With Live Audiences Due To Coronavirus Risks

Live audiences have been suspended at Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.

Variety is reporting that the shows will not have live audience members for the see-able futures as coronavirus continues to spread.

There are three concerns when it comes to taping the shows with live audiences at the moment, with the biggest being that Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek has a compromised immune system as he battles stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

The other two reasons include that the audiences tend to skew older, and a lot of the audiences fly in from other places around the country to watch the show taping.

Both Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! will tape episodes through mid-April.

Alex just recently shared an update with fans about his treatment for cancer.

Pat Sajak Reveals How Much Longer He Plans to Host 'Wheel of Fortune'

Pat Sajak won’t be hosting Wheel of Fortune forever.

The 73-year-old game show host revealed his thoughts about leaving the long-running show during an interview with Good Morning America on Friday (December 20) following his emergency surgery.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Pat Sajak

“I’m not getting any younger. A couple of years. You know what I’m really sensitive about? I’d rather leave a couple years too early than a couple years too late…I don’t have a date in mind, but two, three [years], something like that,” he revealed of how much longer he’ll host the show.

He also spoke about his emergency surgery, and how scary it was for him and his family prior to that moment.

“I remember thinking, not in a morbid way, ‘I think this must be death. This must be what death is like.’ And all I thought of, hearing their voices, I thought, ‘Boy, their lives are gonna change now.’ And I felt badly for them. I didn’t feel badly about dying. I felt badly that they were gonna have to deal with the aftermath.”

READ MORE: Pat Sajak Provides Update Following Emergency Surgery

Vanna White Makes 'Wheel of Fortune' Hosting Debut, Talks About Her Nerves

Vanna White has made her debut as the host of Wheel of Fortune and you can watch a clip from the episode right here!

The 62-year-old television personality is stepping into host Pat Sajak‘s shoes for the first time after 37 years with the show. He is taking a three-week leave of absence after having emergency surgery for a blocked intestine.

Vanna says she was shocked when she was asked to be the temporary host.

“I’ve never even thought of that in 37 years, and to be asked almost on the spot, ‘How do you feel about hosting the show?’ Like, what?!” she told the New York Times last week.

When asked if she had any nerves, Vanna said, “Oh, my gosh, that’s an understatement. I was very nervous.”

“Normally I just stand there and I turn my letters, and I’m just happy as can be not having to worry about anything else,” she added. “But here I am controlling the game. So logistically, it was much harder. But I know every aspect of the game, which helped so much.”

You can watch Vanna as the host for three weeks!

Vanna White's 'Wheel of Fortune' Hosting Gig Will Start Airing Next Week

Vanna White will fill in for Pat Sajak.

The 62-year-old co-host of the long-running Wheel of Fortune stepped up to host the show while Pat Sajak recovered from successful emergency intestinal surgery, starting with the “Secret Santa Holiday Giveaway” episode on Monday (December 9).

Pat was forced to cancel back in November while undergoing surgery, and the Vanna episodes will begin airing next week.

“The Wheel of Fortune taping on Thursday was canceled because host Pat Sajak underwent successful emergency surgery to correct a blocked intestine. He is resting comfortably and looking forward to getting back to work. Taping resumed today as scheduled, and Vanna White has stepped in a host,” the show confirmed last month.

“Even though the shows I missed haven’t started airing (they begin next week), I’m happy to say that I’m back in the studio taping today. It’s been four weeks since my ‘episode,’ but it feels longer. Nice to be back,” Pat Sajak wrote on Thursday (December 5).

READ MORE: Vanna White Gets Candid About Turning to Faith During Dark Times

'Wheel of Fortune' Contestant Who Lost a Trip to Nashville on a Technicality Gets a Surprise Gift

Kristen Shaw is being gifted with a trip after a technicality cost her the win.

When the 26-year-old Wheel of Fortune contestant made a guess on a nearly solved board during an episode back in October, she made a critical error costing her a free trip to Nashville, Tenn.

“Right, football, left and Sally,” she said as the buzzer indicated that she was wrong. Her response was considered incorrect because she said “and” while listing off the four correct words, and the mistake cost her $1,950 and a trip to Nashville. (In the game, you can only say exactly the words while answering.)

“It was probably one of the most embarrassing experiences of my life. And I knew that in about a month, almost everyone in America would see it,” she revealed of the episode which went on to go viral.

However, she received a message of support from L.J. Whalen, one of the directors of Adventureworks, a Nashville-based tourism company, who presented her with the gift of plane tickets, hotel accommodations and tickets to the Grand Ole Opry.

“Our hospitality community is so close-knit, and we’d love to show Ms. Shaw and the nation that we’re a lot more than boot stomping and beer drinking. This is what we do here in Nashville. We give second chances, AND we are not going to make you solve a puzzle to claim it,” they said in a statement.

“I was honestly so shocked I was almost speechless. There is a lot of negativity in this world, but this shows me we are all human, we make mistakes, and for someone to want to give me a second chance, it just blew me away,” Kristen said.

Vanna White Says 'Wheel of Fortune' Fans Helped Her Cope with Fiance's Tragic Death

Vanna White is opening up about some of the most tragic losses in her life.

During a recent interview, the 62-year-old Wheel of Fortune star – who has been on the show since 1982 – recalled the tragic death of then-fiancé, the Young and the Restless actor John Gibson, who was killed when the plane he was flying crashed outside of Van Nuys Airport near Los Angeles.

“It was May 17, 1986,” Vanna recalled with People. “The second I heard about it, I fell to my knees. It was just devastating.”

She then went on to say that Wheel of Fortune fans helped her cope with her devastating loss.

“I heard from so many people who had shared the same experience of losing someone instantly in an accident, and that really helped me,” Vanna continued. “I didn’t feel like I was alone. Because when something like that happens, you immediately think you’re the only one.”

Vanna then married restaurateur George Santo Pietro in 1990, but tragedy struck again in 1992 when she found out she suffered a miscarriage – just a week after announcing her pregnancy on Wheel of Fortune.

“Obviously I lost the baby, which was devastating after announcing it. The good news is I was able to get pregnant again and had two beautiful, healthy children,” Vanna shared. “But losing a child — there’s nothing good about that.”

Vanna then went on to say that thanks to the support of friends, family, and fans, she was able to recover from the loss.

“You have to take their support and try to be strong. It’s so hard, but you just have to think, ‘What would they want me to do?’” Vanna said. “I’m a Christian and have always had my own personal relationship with God,” she says. “I don’t preach about it, because everyone’s entitled to their own beliefs. But I pray. I pray every day.”