Pat Sajak’s first post-Wheel of Fortune gig is revealed… and it may surprise you

With former Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak set to step down following his final episode on Friday, his first post-Wheel of Fortune appearance has been revealed.

Sajak, 77, announced in June 2023 that he would be stepping down from the show after more than four decades, with Ryan Seacrest taking his place.

Now it has been revealed that Sajak will head to Hawaii to reunite with his old friend Joe Moore, a KHON-TV broadcaster in Hawaii, to star in an adaptation of the play Prescription: Murder, via Variety.

The play will run at the Hawaii Theater in Honolulu from July 31, 2025 to August 10, 2025, with KHON-TV airing a commercial broadcast announcing the news on Friday during Sajak’s final Wheel of Fortune episode.

Prescription: Murder was a 1962 play written by William Link and Richard Levinson, who adapted it six years later in 1968 and made it the first pilot of what would become the TV series known as Colombo, which aired in Debuted 1971 on NBC.

Now it’s been revealed that Sajak will head to Hawaii to reunite with his old friend Joe Moore, a KHON-TV broadcaster in Hawaii, to star in an adaptation of the play Prescription: Murder, via Variety

In this regional theater version, Sajak plays Roy Flemming, played by Gene Barry in the original pilot, described as “a brilliant psychiatrist, who devises a plot with a perfect alibi to kill his neurotic and possessive wife.”

Moore will play Lieutenant Columbo, “the seemingly bumbling detective who engages the psychiatrist in a cat-and-mouse battle until the play’s surprising climax.

The play’s cast also includes Moore’s son Bryce (also a KHON reporter) Therese Olival, Amy K. Sullivan and Aiko Chinen.

This will be Sajak’s ninth play alongside Moore, whose friendship dates back to 1968 when they served with the American Forces Vietnam Network in Saigon.

Their first play together was a play Moore wrote, an original called Prophecy and Honor that debuted in 1993.

They also starred together in The Odd Couple (2001), The Honeymooners (2004), The Boys in Autumn (2010), Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (2014), Dial M for Murder (2018) and The Sunshine Boys (2023).

Most of their work together was at the Hawaii Theater, although in 2012 they also performed as The Odd Couple at the Connecticut Repertory Theater in Storrs, CT.

The production Prescription: Murder will serve as a fundraiser for the nonprofit Hawaii Theater.

In this regional theater version, Sajak plays Roy Flemming, played by Gene Barry in the original pilot, described as “a brilliant psychiatrist, who devises a plot with a perfect alibi to murder his neurotic and possessive wife.”

Moore will be Lt. Playing Columbo,’ the apparently bumbling detective who engages the psychiatrist in a cat-and-mouse battle until the play’s surprising climax.

This will be Sajak’s ninth play alongside Moore, whose friendship dates back to 1968 when they served with the American Forces Vietnam Network in Saigon.

They also starred together in The Odd Couple (2001), The Honeymooners (2004), The Boys in Autumn (2010), Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (2014), Dial M for Murder (2018) and The Sunshine Boys (2023).

Tickets can be purchased at the Hawaii Theater box office website for the play’s performance next summer.

Earlier this week, Sajak spoke to his daughter Maggie for a Good Morning America interview and explained why now is the “right time” to leave.

Maggie, 29, the show’s social media correspondent, asked: “What made you decide now is the right time to leave the show?”

“I’ve always said, you’ve heard me say this dozens of times, I’d rather leave a few years too early than too late,” Pat replied.

‘Could I still do it? Yes. I think I could do that for a while. [But]There are also some other things in life that we would like to do.”

He continued, “I’m enjoying this last year. It’s been a great 40 years. I look forward to what lies ahead.”