‘Jeopardy!’ Ratings Spot Drops for the First Time Since Alex Trebek’s Final Episodes

For the first time since Alex Trebek‘s final episodes aired, Jeopardy! ratings have dropped the show into second place, falling another 5% during Katie Couric’s second week guest hosting the game show. Finishing with a 5.3 household rating, according to The Wrap, Jeopardy! fell behind Family Feud, which had a 5.4 rating in the week ending March 21.

Trebek’s final show aired in January after the beloved longtime host died in November following a battle with pancreatic cancer. That final week of episodes brought in a 6.6 rating, with his final episode on Jan. 8 bringing in 14 million viewers — the most in more than a year.

Couric’s appearance on the show marked Jeopardy!‘s first-ever female host as she took over the temporary hosting gig from the show’s executive producer, Mike Richards, who appeared in front of the camera after taking over for Greatest of All Time champion Ken Jennings. Currently, Dr. Mehmet Oz of The Dr. Oz Show is guest hosting, with ratings for the controversial choice becoming available next week.

After Oz was announced as a guest host, more than 500 past Jeopardy! contestants signed a letter, originally published on Medium, calling his appearance “a slap in the face to all involved.” The group stated in the letter that while there is “very little that a large group of Jeopardy! contestants can agree upon,” when they heard that Oz was slated to be a guest host, “agreement came quickly — we were opposed.”

While the letter noted the importance of ratings, Oz “stands in opposition to everything that Jeopardy! stands for,” including “facts and knowledge.” Pointing out that throughout his TV career, Oz has “used his authority as a doctor to push harmful ideas onto the American public, in stark contrast with his oath to first do no harm,” the contestants listed as examples “promoting supplements that do nothing, legitimizing gay conversion therapy…dangerous ‘cures’ for autism, and, most recently, the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19.”

The show is currently working on a permanent successor for Trebek, but has a star-studded line of guest hosts lined up for the upcoming weeks. Included in that lineup are Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker and Call Me Kat star Mayim Bialik. The show has stated it will make a donation to a charity of each guest host’s choosing in an amount equal to the contestants’ cumulative winnings during their respective week of episodes.