Drew Carey has been on our television screens for nearly 30 years.
Most of the time, he occupies a series of fairly comfortable positions:
Whether it’s his long-running ABC sitcom, his beloved improv show, or his current role as host of the venerable game show The Price Is Right, Carey has historically excelled at delivering content that appeals to a specific demographic.
In other words, he’s not the kind of celebrity you’d encounter against your will while scrolling through your Facebook feed.
Unlike the Taylor Swifts and Travis Kelce of the world, Kylie has to be found.
Those looking for his “oh shit” nerdy Midwestern charm usually know exactly what’s coming.
Due to the nature of his career, Carey isn’t the type of star who typically makes headlines or sparks strong opinions in some way.
That’s what makes this week’s events so extraordinary.
Drew Carey’s unintentional rivalry with Ryan Seacrest
As far as we know, Drew Carey has never even meet Ryan Seacrest.
This week, however, the names of the two presenters are inextricably intertwined.
That’s because Seacrest made his debut as host of Wheel of Fortune on Monday.
Dawn of the Seacrest Era
Now, before we go any further, we should note that game show viewers tend to be creatures of habit.
Most of the people who spent 43 years watching Pat Sajak every night would probably be happy to do the same thing for the next few decades.
But as time passed, Sajak opted out of the Wheel show last June.
So far, Seacrest has received more criticism than praise on social media. But that may have more to do with a novelty-averse audience than his performance.
And what does all this have to do with Drew Carey?
Well, it turns out our assumption that no one strongly disliked the Cleveland native was wrong.
In fact, when Carey succeeded Bob Barker in 2007, he initially seemed to piss off quite a few people.
Now, however, things have changed, and Seacrest’s rocky first week has given the game show world a more optimistic view of Carey’s tenure as host of The Price Is Right .
“I think the worst game show host change was when Drew Carey took over for Bob Barker and then Wheel of Fortune said stop drinking,” one thought this week wrote a disgruntled X (former Twitter) user.
The quote reflects the reaction to Seacrest’s performance so far — which seems a little unfair, given that the longtime TV personality hasn’t had much time to adjust to his new role.
But perhaps the weirdest part of this story is all the comparisons that have made Drew’s name a hot topic!
Somewhere Ken Jennings is breathing a sigh of relief that he’s been left out of this mess.
TV fans, what do you think? Does Seacrest have what it takes to fill Sajak’s shoes?
Hit the comments section below to share your thoughts.
