‘Jeopardy!’ Producer Weighs in on Aaron Rodgers’ First Week as Host

Aaron Rodgers can currently be seen on Jeopardy! as the guest host and is receiving high praise for the work has done so far. Mike Richards, executive producer of Jeopardy! spoke to Peter King of NBC Sports and said that the Green Bay Packers quarterback has a future as a game show host if he decides to go that route.

“What I find fascinating about Aaron is his second career could be better than his first,” Richards said in the interview. Rodgers is hosting Jeopardy! for two weeks and is one of several notable figures who have filled in after Alex Trebek died in November at the age of 80 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Richards detailed the taping process Rodgers went through, which included one day of just rehearsals, and two days of taping (two shows in the morning and three in the afternoon).

“At the end of the three days,” Richards said, “Aaron was exhausted. But he was so complimentary to everyone in the studio and on the team. We were his offensive linemen for those three days. He treated us all so well. He hated to go, and we hated to see him go.” There has been rumors of Rodgers possibly being named the permanent host of Jeopardy! and retiring from the NFL. Rodgers appeared on the NFL Network show Good Morning Football last week and revealed he can do both if possible.

“I think I bring something different to the show,” Rodgers said. “I was the youngest guest host. There’s a different audience that maybe I could bring along with it; hopefully, the numbers show it the next two weeks. But I do enjoy the show. I have a ton of respect for the show. The way that Alex (Trebek) had a smooth hand on the show for three-and-a-half decades is something that can’t be understated, and I think he held the show in such a high esteem that it made everybody really respect and admire him and the show.”

And while Rodgers has received strong reviews for hosting Jeopardy!, Richards noticed that the three-time NFL MVP was a little nervous in his first episode. “The intensity goes up in the real game, which Aaron found out,” Richards said. “You can see, even with the second show, his voice got better, his command got better, he started to enjoy it and have fun. But the truth is, you never truly relax. You’ve got the open, introducing the categories, 15 questions, the short interviews with the players, 15 more questions, 30 questions in Double Jeopardy, sum up, introduce Final Jeopardy, then do that, and through it all, you’re the arbiter of every question.”