Wheel of Fortune Tonight (Monday, Sept. 7, 2026): A Labor Day Encore, and the New Opening Round One Week Out
Where Wheel of Fortune stands on the last Monday before the new season:
| Date (ET) | What airs |
|---|---|
| Mon 9/7 — Labor Day | Encore; holiday pre-emptions possible |
| Tue 9/8 – Fri 9/11 | Encores, four more nights |
| Mon 9/14 | Season 44 premiere, first-run |
| Fri 6/11/27 | Season 44 finale |
The gist: nothing new spins tonight. The last repeat week of the year runs Monday through Friday, and the game itself changes shape a week from today.
Is Wheel of Fortune new tonight?
No. Sony has not published which taped week stations are replaying, so we are not going to guess at a theme — but the season break is well documented, and no first-run episode airs before September 14.
Labor Day adds a second wrinkle. Holiday Mondays are when local stations are likeliest to shift a syndicated half hour for a game or a parade, so the show may sit somewhere other than its usual slot, or not run at all in your market.
What time is Wheel of Fortune on tonight?
Wheel is syndicated, which means the slot belongs to your station rather than to the network. In most cities it takes the half hour directly before or after Jeopardy!, which puts it at 7 or 7:30 p.m. in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia and in the late afternoon in Chicago.
We put the biggest markets in a table in tonight's Jeopardy! preview, and the air-time guide walks through finding your station by ZIP code. Once you have it, it holds all season.
What changes in Season 44?
The opening minutes, and this is a bigger deal than it sounds. For decades the show has started with two toss-up puzzles; Season 44 replaces them with a 30-second Toss-Up Sprint, in which all three contestants solve as many toss-ups as they can against the clock.
The knock-on effects reach the rest of the show. The Sprint runs straight into the first standard puzzle, with control of Round 1 going to whoever solved the last toss-up, and the contestant chats slide back to the gap between the first and second rounds.
Ryan Seacrest hosts a third season with Vanna White at the board. First-run episodes run September 14, 2026 through June 11, 2027.
👉 A repeat week is the cheapest time to learn a new format. On the 14th the show will not open the way you are used to.
Does the bonus puzzle giveaway run during repeats?
Not the way it does in a first-run week. The nightly SPIN ID sweepstakes is tied to live weeks and their sponsored prizes — the Myrtle Beach Family Week window closed on Friday, and the official site has since moved on to a Mystery Wedge promotion.
The mechanic itself does not change: you match the night's bonus puzzle solution to your SPIN ID on wheeloffortune.com, and entries close at 4 p.m. ET the next day. Our SPIN ID explainer covers registration, and it is worth sorting out this week rather than on premiere night.
Where do you catch up on what you missed?
Episodes hit Hulu and Peacock the day after they air. On this site, every bonus puzzle and winner from the break is filed by date — Friday's $45,000 finish was the loudest of them, and that night's preview lists the rest of the week's answers.
FAQ
Is Wheel of Fortune new tonight, September 7? No. It is an encore, and the last repeat week before Season 44.
When does Wheel of Fortune Season 44 start? Monday, September 14, 2026, running through June 11, 2027.
What is the Toss-Up Sprint? A 30-second round replacing the show's two opening toss-ups, with all three contestants solving as many as they can.
When do SPIN ID bonus puzzle entries close? 4 p.m. ET the day after the episode airs, on the official site.
Sources · WheelofFortune.com — official site and giveaways · TV Insider — Season 44 premiere date · TV Insider — Toss-Up Sprint report · TV Guide — Season 44 episode listing
Nightly write-ups live in the Wheel of Fortune section, with dated bonus puzzles and winners in nightly results.