'Jeopardy!' Hosts for Rest of Current Season Reportedly Revealed
Jeopardy! has revealed its hosts for the rest of the season. According to TMZ, Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will take over the hosting duties after Mike Richards exited the show. Sony productions sources told TMZ that the show is going to have two hosts for at least for the rest of the season with Bialik hosting more than half of the episodes and Jennings shooting a few weeks worth of episodes.
As far as next season goes, executives haven't made a decision yet but are still searching for a full-time permanent replacement. TMZ says Bialik seems to be the frontrunner to be the permanent host. She was a guest host on Jeopardy! earlier this year and talked about how excited she was to be part of the iconic game show.
"It is an unbelievable honor to even be mentioned in the same sentence as Jeopardy! and I'm especially honored to be able to represent women who love game shows and facts and all things geek — especially when they combine with something as entertaining as 'Jeopardy!'" Bialik told the TODAY show in May. She also paid tribute to the late Alex Trebek who was the host of Jeopardy! until his death last year. She said: "He really was the quintessential host. He was friendly but not too friendly; he was smart but not unapproachable. He had a warm smile and a great sense of humor and he was incredibly professional."
Jennings is a former Jeopardy! contestant who holds the record of 74 consecutive wins. He also won the Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time tournament in 2020 and took home the $1 million first-place prize. Like Bialik, Jennings was a guest host earlier this year with his episodes airing from January 11 to February 19.
Richards, who was an executive producer on Jeopardy! was selected to be the permanent host in early August. But as soon as the announcement was made, allegations of sexual harassment resurfaced, leading him to step down as host a couple of weeks later. He was then fired from his executive producer role on Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Currently, Jeopardy! is airing the episodes Richards filmed as the host. He reportedly filmed the first five episodes of Jeopardy! Season 38, and the reason the episodes are airing likely have to do with gameplay rules.