Alex Trebek’s Last ‘Jeopardy!’ Episode Will Air on Christmas

Alex Trebek continued filming new episodes of Jeopardy! until Oct. 29, meaning there are still several new shows left featuring the beloved late game show host. The last new episode featuring Trebek as host will air on Dec. 25, Christmas Day. Sony Pictures Entertainment, which produces the syndicated series, has not announced a new host yet.

The Jeopardy! producers announced Trebek’s death on Sunday. He died peacefully at age 80 with his family and close friends by his side. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2019 and continued filming new episodes, even returning after the show’s coronavirus shutdown earlier this summer. Trebek is survived by his wife Jean, and children Matthew, Emily, and Nicky. His family said donations could be made in his memory to World Vision International, an Evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization.

“This is an enormous loss for the Jeopardy! staff, crew and all of Alex’s millions of fans,” Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards said in a statement. “He was a legend of the industry that we were all lucky to watch night after night for 37 years. Working beside him for the past year and a half as he heroically continued to host Jeopardy! was an incredible honor. His belief in the importance of the show and his willingness to push himself to perform at the highest level was the most inspiring demonstration of courage I have ever seen. His constant desire to learn, his kindness, and his professionalism will be with all of us forever.”

Trebek hosted over 8,200 episodes of Jeopardy!, setting the Guinness World Record for hosting the most episodes of one game show. He won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host seven times and received the Daytime Emmys’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Trebek began hosting Jeopardy! in 1984 and hosted several other game shows early in his career, including The Wizard of Odds, To Tell the Truth, and Classic Concentration.

In July, Trebek released his memoir, The Answer Is… Reflections on My Life?, in which he said he was not afraid of dying. He also wrote about how he wished to be remembered. “I suppose if I had to answer I would say I’d like to be remembered first of all as a good and loving husband and father, and also as a decent man who did his best to help people perform at their best,” Trebek wrote. “Because that was my job.”