Richards, Bialik to host ‘Jeopardy!’
After the death of longtime “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, the game show has decided that it will take not one but two people to fill his shoes: Mike Richards, the show’s executive producer, will become its new regular host, and actress Mayim Bialik will take over for primetime specials.
The move puts an end to months of speculation about who will replace Trebek, who had been hosting the show for 36 years when he died of pancreatic cancer.
Bialik, who is known for her roles in the sitcoms “The Big Bang Theory” and “Blossom,” will be the first woman to be a permanent host of “Jeopardy!” Her role will include hosting a new college championship tournament set to air next year on ABC.
As the show’s executive producer, Richards already has one of the top roles on the program and has been involved in strategizing how to keep the show going past the Trebek era.
For more than seven months, “Jeopardy!” has tested out more than a dozen guest hosts, including Richards and Bialik.
Some of the hosts were established television personalities who seemed unlikely to take on the permanent hosting role, such as Anderson Cooper and Katie Couric.
Others, like LeVar Burton and Ken Jennings, seemed to be auditioning for the job as they presented clues and bantered with contestants onstage.
When Variety magazine published an article last week saying that Richards was the top candidate for the job, there were decidedly mixed reactions. Some on social media expressed disappointment that an executive with influence over the succession battle would end up being the winner.
In an email to “Jeopardy!” staff that the show released to the media earlier this week, Richards — who was the host of a reality show called “Beauty and the Geek” — wrote that he was “humbled and deeply honored” when he was asked if he would consider hosting the show.
“The choice on this is not my decision and never has been,” Richards wrote. “Alex always believed the game itself and the contestants are the most important aspects of the show.”
Episodes for the new season, the show’s 38th, will start airing Sept. 13.