‘Jeopardy!’ Offers First Look at Alex Trebek’s Last Episodes

The Jeopardy! team shared a first look at the final episodes hosted by Alex Trebek, which will begin airing this week. The original plan was to air Trebek’s last shows during the week of Christmas Day, but they were postponed until the first full week of 2021, as Trebek’s best-loved episodes aired during the last weeks of 2020 instead. The first episode will air on Monday, Jan. 4.

“For almost four decades, we’ve invited him into our homes,” a narrator said in the short clip as some memorable moments with Trebek play. “And made him part of our lives… Alex Trebek’s last episodes.” In the end, Trebek tells the audience, “What a game. I loved it. I hope you did too.” Trebek continued filming new episodes until Oct. 29, less than two weeks before his death on Nov. 8, producers said.

Production on Jeopardy! resumed on Nov. 30 with Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings stepping in as a guest host. Jennings has not been hired as a permanent host yet, and his candidacy could be in trouble. After Jennings was hired as a temporary host, a 2014 tweet in which he wrote, “Nothing sadder than a hot person in a wheelchair” resurfaced. Last week, Jennings issued an apology for the since-deleted tweet, and others considered it “unartful and insensitive.” He also admitted that deleting them was “whitewashing a mistake.”

“But I think that practice may have given the impression I stand by every failed joke I’ve ever posted here. Not at all,” Jennings tweeted. “Sometimes I said dumb things in a dumb way and I want to apologize to people who were (rightfully!) offended. It wasn’t my intention to hurt anyone, but that doesn’t matter: I screwed up, and I’m truly sorry. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we should be kinder to one another. I look forward to heading into 2021 with that in mind.”

Trebek died in November at age 80 following a battle with prostate cancer. The Jeopardy! team continued releasing pre-taped messages he filmed before his death, including a heartbreaking message for fans on Thanksgiving. Trebek reminded viewers there were still reasons to be thankful in 2020, despite the coronavirus pandemic and other struggles the world is facing today. “There are more and more people extending helpful hands to do a kindness to their neighbors, and that’s a good thing,” the beloved game show host said. “Keep the faith; we’re gonna get through all of this, and we will be a better society because of it.”