Final ‘Jeopardy!’: Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik will share hosting duties

For greater than a 12 months, there was a query that followers of “Jeopardy!” might by no means appear to get a straight reply to: Who would succeed longtime host Alex Trebek after he dies, turning into the brand new face of the favored sport present?

First got here a rotating forged of momentary hosts – together with LeVar Burton, who had a legion of on-line followers spurring him on as a everlasting decide, and Mehmet Oz, a celeb physician who adopted his stint as host with a proposal. for the US Senate. Then the present introduced its succession plan – its government producer, Mike Richards, would take over as common season host, whereas Mayim Bialik would document prime-time specials. That plan imploded after revelations that Richards had made offensive feedback on a podcast.

To fill the internet hosting void, this system then turned to Bialik and former champion Ken Jennings, asking them to briefly fill and distribute internet hosting duties. It was a brief association that was prolonged, and on Wednesday the present made it everlasting, choosing the established order over one other main shake-up.

“I write at the moment with the thrilling information that now we have secured and signed offers with Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings to host ‘Jeopardy!’ transferring ahead,” the present’s government producer, Michael Davies, wrote in an announcement posted on the present’s web site.

The rationale for 2 hosts, he defined, was the present’s increasing model, which features a “Celeb Jeopardy!” » spin-off and a second probability match that invitations one of the best opponents to come back again to compete.

“The factor is, now we have so many ‘Jeopardy!’ to do, and so many plans for the longer term, that we all the time knew we would wish a number of hosts for the franchise,” Davies wrote.

Jennings will host common season broadcasts via December and Bialik will take over in January, in response to the announcement.

In a gesture to the present’s loyal however vocal followers, Davies sought to reassure them: “We all know you worth consistency, so we cannot be always rocking hosts and can hold you up to date on the internet hosting schedule. “

However because the present struggled to search out its footing behind the scenes, it continued to generate pleasure – ​​and rankings – with a string of star contestants. In only one season, 4 new champions have been added to the collection’ all-time standings, fueling many theories amongst followers as to what’s behind the brand new streak of consecutive wins. For a time, the rising stardom of the profitable contestants — together with Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, and Mattea Roach — supplied a welcome distraction from the shortage of readability round who would develop into the present’s everlasting face.

Jennings stays the champion with essentially the most consecutive wins (74) and essentially the most cash earned in common season video games ($2.5 million) within the present’s historical past. Bialik, Ph.D. in neuroscience and is finest recognized for her function as a scientist on the sitcom ‘The Massive Bang Idea’, made it clear early on that she wished to get the job completely, although she needed to stability it with the calls for from his sitcom “Name Me Kat,” and was criticized for endorsing a “mind well being complement” for an organization that settled a lawsuit accusing him of false promoting. Jennings has additionally come below hearth for previous social media posts, apologize for tweeting “artless and insensitive stuff” after it was initially revealed as a “jeopardy!” visitor host after Trebek’s loss of life.

After Richards’ departure, Davies, a veteran sport present producer who developed the unique American model of “Who Needs to Be a Millionaire?”

Below Davies, the present labored to increase past its conventional construction and to cater to its passionate followers, asserting each day stats for every contestant and, on Wednesday, a brand new podcast.

And there are extra promotions to come back. Bialik will host “Celeb Jeopardy!”, which debuts on ABC in September, whereas Jennings will host the primary Second Likelihood Event, in addition to the upcoming Event of Champions. In his announcement, Davies hinted that there could possibly be extra spinoffs, noting that Bialik would additionally host just a few new tournaments, along with the school championship.