Wheel of Fortune Next Week (Sept. 21–25, 2026): Words With Friends Week, $20,000 Giveaway
Premiere week ended the way Season 44 seems to want to go: enormous envelopes, and two people out of five who got to open one. Liz Hawkins from Mequon, Wis., closed Friday with $76,819 and a Bali trip after solving QUART OF WHOLE MILK for $45,000 — the second solve of the week, against three misses worth $50,000, $75,000 and an Audi.
Bottom line: next week is a themed week, and every episode of it comes with a sweepstakes. Sept. 21–25 is Words With Friends week, five first-run shows, Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White — and, in this May-taped week, the old toss-ups in place of Fortune Frenzy.
What is on Wheel of Fortune next week, day by day?
| Day (ET) | What airs | The detail that matters |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 9/21 | Played | Wanda Key won $29,207; bonus FORMER OLYMPIAN missed |
| Tue 9/22 | Played | Tammy Innis won $59,875 with a GMC Terrain; bonus MY BAGS ARE PACKED solved |
| Wed 9/23 | Played | Jen Casillas won $17,815; bonus TAKING FLIGHT missed |
| Thu 9/24 | Played | Tony Oriente won $25,011; bonus SYNCHRONIZING OUR WATCHES missed |
| Fri 9/25 | Played | Gabe Raskin won $33,972; bonus BELIEVE THE HYPE missed. Canyon Spirit followed Sept. 28 |
All five are first-run in your usual weeknight slot. The week was taped on May 19, which is why the schedule for it has been public since early September.
Monday, Sept. 21: what is Words With Friends week?
A sponsored round built around the word game, dropped into each of the five episodes. Whoever solves that round wins an amount, and the show doubles it to set the cash prize for viewers at home.
That is the whole mechanic, and it explains why the prize is described as "up to $20,000" rather than a flat figure — the contestants on stage decide how big your night's pot is.
Tuesday, Sept. 22: how does the giveaway actually work?
Five separate sweepstakes, one per episode. Entry runs Sept. 21 through Oct. 3, the drawings are held on or about Oct. 16, and the five prizes carry a total stated value of $100,040 — with a Wheel shirt and hat going to one of the winners on top of the cash.
You need a free Wheel Watchers Club account, you watch the episode, and you submit the Words With Friends clue from that night's round on the entry page. One entry per person per episode, which means five chances across the week rather than one.
👉 It is open to the 50 states, D.C. and Canada — but not Quebec, and not Puerto Rico, Guam or the other U.S. territories.
This is a different thing from the nightly bonus-puzzle SPIN ID giveaway, which keeps running alongside it. If you mix the two up, our SPIN ID and bonus puzzle explainer separates them.
Wednesday, Sept. 23: is Fortune Frenzy still there?
Not this week, as it turned out. Words With Friends week was taped in May, and all five shows went back to the old $1,000 and $2,000 toss-ups. Fortune Frenzy returned with Canyon Spirit week on Sept. 28.
In premiere week the rapid-fire opener replaced those toss-ups rather than sitting on top of them. Five puzzles came up on premiere night at $1,000 each, and Andy Nguyen's recap has four of them solved. The theme of the puzzles changes nightly, and the tracking of each one lives on our Wheel of Fortune Tonight page.
Thursday, Sept. 24: what did the bonus round do in week one?
Two for five, and the misses were the expensive ones. This is the season's whole story so far in five rows.
| Night | Bonus puzzle | Envelope | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 9/14 | BLOWING BUBBLES | $45,000 | Solved |
| Tue 9/15 | MATH PRODIGY | $50,000 | Missed |
| Wed 9/16 | I'M PIVOTING | $75,000 | Missed |
| Thu 9/17 | IDEATING | Audi Q3 | Missed |
| Fri 9/18 | QUART OF WHOLE MILK | $45,000 | Solved |
Add it up and $215,000 in cash sat in envelopes across premiere week, of which $90,000 got opened. Hawkins saved her Wild Card for the bonus round instead of spending it in Express, drew an H with it, and that was the difference on Friday. The summer's last rerun went the other way — James Roberson missed A CHIC OUTFIT with $50,000 inside on Sept. 11.
Friday, Sept. 25: what comes after the theme week?
Canyon Spirit week, Sept. 28 through Oct. 2. Then Wheel Loves L.A. on Oct. 5, and Hit It Rich on Oct. 19.
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune is the other date to keep. Season 7 starts Oct. 2 on ABC, Fridays at 8 p.m. ET, and that is a separate hour from the syndicated half hour next week.
What time is Wheel of Fortune on in my city?
Whatever your station decided, which is not the same as your neighbor two states over. These are the big-market slots as of September 2026 listings.
| Market | Wheel of Fortune | Jeopardy! |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 7:30 p.m. | 7:00 p.m. |
| Los Angeles | 7:30 p.m. | 7:00 p.m. |
| Chicago | 6:30 p.m. | 3:30 p.m. |
| Philadelphia | 7:30 p.m. | 7:00 p.m. |
| Atlanta | 7:00 p.m. | 7:30 p.m. |
The two shows run back to back almost everywhere, in one order or the other; Chicago's WLS is the big exception, three hours apart. To look up your own station by ZIP code, the method is in our air-time guide — worth doing before a week you are entering a sweepstakes on.
Where can you watch or stream Season 44?
Hulu and Peacock carry new episodes the day after they air. Pluto TV runs older seasons free, and YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV give you the live feed if your antenna does not.
FAQ
What is on Wheel of Fortune next week?
Five new Season 44 episodes, Monday Sept. 21 through Friday Sept. 25, making up Words With Friends week, with a sweepstakes attached to each night.
Is Wheel of Fortune new next week?
Yes. All five weeknights are first-run. The summer reruns ended Sept. 11 and Season 44 has been new since Sept. 14.
What time is Wheel of Fortune on?
Most markets air it at 7 or 7:30 p.m. local time (6 or 6:30 Central), a few in the afternoon. Check the table above, then confirm with your local listings.
Jeopardy! ran in the neighboring half hour and crowned three new champions in five nights — that week is laid out in Jeopardy! Next Week. Premiere week itself is in last week's schedule post, and every night's bonus answer is filed under results.
Sources
Wheeloffortune.com — Words With Friends and Canyon Spirit giveaways, Wheel Watchers Club · Season 44 theme week schedule and taping dates · Sept. 18 recap — Liz Hawkins, the Wild Card and the bonus round · Words With Friends Giveaway — entry dates, prizes and eligibility · Season 44 streaming and air-time roundup · Sept. 25 recap — toss-ups and the week's last bonus round · WLS Chicago listings
- Who Hosts Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, Family Feud and The Price Is Right?
- How to Qualify for the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions: Wins Needed and Who Decides
- How the Jeopardy! Buzzer Works: The Quarter-Second Lockout and the Hidden Lights
- Jeopardy! Daily Double Rules: The $5 Minimum, Where They Hide and the $25,000 Record