Alex Trebek Proposes ‘Jeopardy!’ Unusual Replacement

Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek may not be retiring any time soon, but he is already thinking about replacements.

The longtime Fox game show host recently opened up about his future on the show while speaking to reporters at the 92nd Street Y, where he even suggested a number of potential replacements upon his eventual retirement.

“It’s probably going to be a woman, somebody younger, somebody bright, somebody personable, somebody with a great sense of humor,” he said, according to Page Six. “So I nominated Betty White.”

Trebek went on to list off a number of serious contenders to take over the gig, which he has held for more than three decades. His possible replacements include CNN’s Laura Coates, LA Kings announcer Alex Faust, and TCM’s Ben Mankiewicz.

Despite the suggestions, fans shouldn’t count on seeing Betty White reading off answers anytime soon. In November, it was announced that Trebek had renewed his contract for an additional three years, meaning he is slated to keep his iconic role as host until 2022.

Originally premiering in 1964, Trebek took over hosting the beloved game show from former host Art Fleming in 1984, though concern that Trebek would be leaving the role has been sparked multiple times in recent years due to a number of health issues.

In December of 2017, Trebek was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for complications related to his October fall in which he had hit his head. After being diagnosed with a subdural hematoma, he underwent surgery to have it removed and remained hospitalized for an additional two days.

“Some of you may have heard that during the holiday break I had a slight medical problem,” Trebek explained in a video posted by the official Jeopardy Twitter account at the time “A subdural hematoma, blood clots on the brain caused by a fall I endured about two months ago.”

The medical emergency caused the long-running game show to go on a short hiatus as Trebek recovered, and the game show host opened up about his multiple health scares in an interview shortly after, revealing that he “was counting up my various surgeries the other day and I think it’s close to 20 now — different parts of my body.” He added that he “changed” his lifestyle in order to be healthier.

As for what the future holds after his contract is up, Trebek has stated that there the odds of him retiring after 2020 were “50-50 and a little less.”