Wheel of Fortune has become the perfect balm for the current stage of the pandemic

Esquire

Pat Sajak and Vanna White's game show has become the No. 1 syndicated show, with ratings up 25% over last year. "The Wheel has met its moment, and I am not ashamed to say it: I, too, have become a Wheel-Watcher," says Dave Holmes. "It’s always been there, of course, and its candy-colored set and accessible puzzles take us back to our youth, to dinners eaten on a TV tray in the family room as a special treat. Pat Sajak and Vanna White—and, briefly, Rolf Benirschke but we do not talk about it—have always been there, a genial uncle we stopped following on Facebook and a charming aunt with a great wardrobe. The Wheel will neither challenge nor upset you; you do not have time to emotionally invest in the contestants, and you will forget everything you have seen ninety seconds after the credits roll. Even the cars and cash amounts are, like, fine. It is perfect late-lockdown entertainment. It is all we can handle right now."