Alex Trebek left huge shoes to fill, but two years after his death, it looks like Sony has finally found a new Jeopardy! host — or, rather, hosts. Per Variety, interim hosts Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will stay on the game show permanently.
Bialik and Jennings have been splitting hosting duties on Jeopardy! since last September, and according to a source familiar with the matter, the quiz show’s two-host format will help the program develop spinoffs. Bialik is also expected to host primetime editions of the show, as well as the new Celebrity Jeopardy! in the works at ABC.
“With all of our plans for Jeopardy! — which is more Jeopardy!, not less, more versions — we’re going to need multiple hosts to represent the entire audience, to represent the entire country, in order to take this franchise forward,” executive producer Michael Davies told Variety in June.
A number of stars, from LeVar Burton to Katie Couric, have taken a stab at hosting Jeopardy! in recent years. Last August, the series named executive producer Mike Richards as its official permanent host, but unearthed offensive comments he made on a 2013 podcast contributed to his ousting.
Outside of the game show sphere, Bialik also currently stars on the FOX sitcom Call Me Kat. Meanwhile, in more lighthearted Jeopardy! news, a contestant back in January confused Nickelback with Arcade Fire, subsequently conflating one of the 21st century’s most critically acclaimed acts with one of its most maligned.
Nearly two years after the search began, Jeopardy! finally has not one, but two permanent hosts. Today, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that the show has entered into long-term deals with Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings, who have been splitting duties behind the podium for months now.
“In Mayim and Ken, we have two outstanding hosts at the beginning of their Jeopardy! hosting careers who connect with their own unique fanbases, new fans, and the traditional Jeopardy! viewer,” executive producer Michael Davies said in a statement. “Mayim and Ken are both extraordinarily talented and simply lovely humans. They support the staff and each other. They love and respect this institution of a television program. In return, the staff and I are honored to work alongside them.”
Season 39 of Jeopardy! kicks off on September 12 with Jennings behind the podium. In addition to the standard nightly program, he’ll host the inaugural Second Chance Tournament, where contestants who “deserve a second shot” are invited back to the show, with the opportunity to level up into the Tournament of Champions (which Jennings will also host). Jennings’ run will last through December, while Bialik hosts Celebrity Jeopardy! in primetime on ABC. Then, come January, Bialik will host the National College Championship, a handful of unannounced new tournaments, and as many weeks of the standard nightly program as she can manage with her primetime commitment to Call Me Kat.
Bialik at the Jeopardy! National College Championship.
Casey Durkin//Getty ImagesDavies went on to say, “We know you value consistency, so we will not flip flop the hosts constantly and will keep you informed about the hosting schedule.” Remember the Great Jeopardy! Host Carousel of 2021? Seems the producers have learned their lesson.
Hey, by the way, has anyone checked on disgraced Jeopardy! producer / wannabe host Mike Richards? Now might be a good time to scour Los Angeles sports bars and make sure he’s not weeping into a beer somewhere.
Adrienne WestenfeldBooks and Fiction Editor
Adrienne Westenfeld is the Books and Fiction Editor at Esquire, where she oversees books coverage, edits fiction, and curates the Esquire Book Club.
(CNN) It won't exactly be a daily double, but "Jeopardy!" has decided that two hosts are better than one.
Producers for the beloved game show have decided to keep former "Big Bang Theory" star Mayim Bialik and champ Ken Jennings in place as "Jeopardy" hosts for the foreseeable future, with the pair splitting duties.
Bialik and Jennings began co-hosting in 2021, following the 2020 death of longtime host Alex Trebek and subsequent extensive -- and fraught -- search for a new host.
"I write today with the exciting news that we have closed and signed deals with Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings to be the hosts of Jeopardy! moving forward," executive producer Michael Davies announced in a statement Wednesday on the show's website. "In Mayim and Ken, we have two outstanding hosts at the beginning of their Jeopardy! hosting careers who connect with their own unique fanbases, new fans, and the traditional Jeopardy! viewer."
Jennings will host as the new season begins in September, as well as act as host for the Second Chance competition and Tournament of Champions, the announcement said.
Bialik, who also currently stars on FOX's "Call Me Kat," will host "Celebrity Jeopardy!" on ABC in primetime and will host the main show for a period of time beginning in January.
"The current plan is to have her host a couple of new tournaments as well as the Jeopardy! National College Championship and as many weeks as she can manage with her other primetime commitment to 'Call Me Kat,'" the announcement said. "We know you value consistency, so we will not flip flop the hosts constantly and will keep you informed about the hosting schedule."
Davies added: "Mayim and Ken are both extraordinarily talented and simply lovely humans. They support the staff and each other. They love and respect this institution of a television program. In return, the staff and I are honored to work alongside them."
'Jeopardy!': The next steps after Mike Richards resigns as host
New "Jeopardy!" host Mike Richards will step down but remain as executive producer. The search for his replacement will begin with more guest hosts.
The "Daily Double" hosting will continue.
"Jeopardy!" announced Wednesday that Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik will remain as the beloved quiz show's permanent hosts, ahead of its 39th season, which begins taping in early August and returns in September.
Jennings will host episodes of the syndicated quiz show that air through December, along with November's Tournament of Champions, while Bialik will host other tournamentsand a new "Celebrity Jeopardy" series that will air Sundays on ABC this fall.
Executive producer Michael Davies said in the announcement, "We have so much 'Jeopardy!' to make, and so many plans for the future, that we always knew we would need multiple hosts for the franchise and we are just so grateful that Mayim and Ken stepped in and stepped up to put the show in a position to succeed."
Davies continued, praising the pair as "outstanding hosts at the beginning of their Jeopardy! hosting careers."
When Bialik takes over the daily show fin January, "the current plan is to have her host a couple of new tournaments as well as the Jeopardy! National College Championship and as many weeks as she can manage with her other primetime commitment to (Fox's) 'Call Me Kat,'" Davies said, adding, "We know you value consistency, so we will not flip flop the hosts constantly and will keep you informed about the hosting schedule."
What is a debacle? How the 'Jeopardy!' host search went wrong with Mike Richards
'I didn't throw the game': 'Jeopardy!' champ Ryan Long on his final match, legacy
When Alex Trebek died following a battle with pancreatic cancer nearly two years ago, producers lined up a series of celebrity guest hosts, made up mainly of news personalities and former contestants, to finish the 2020-21 season.
Bialik, who has a Ph.D. in neuroscience, and Jennings, who tops the game show's leaderboard for consecutive victories and largest regular-season winnings, were among the guest hosts. Sony Pictures Television eventually selected executive producer Mike Richards, who resigned less than two weeks later due to controversy over past remarks and unrest among the show's staff. Bialik and Jennings were tapped to split hosting duties for Season 38.
'Celebrity Jeopardy!', Hilary Swank-led drama, 'Rookie' spinoff debuting on ABC this fall
19 new music documentaries ready to rock your world, from Shania Twain to Machine Gun Kelly
Bialik enthusiastically embraced the idea of finding a permanent place at the "Jeopardy!" podium during a May 2021 interview about her guest hosting gig.
For me personally, and academically speaking, this is a really, really, really lovely place that I felt so comfortable, and was really honored to be part of it in any way," Bialik said. "But obviously feel very strongly that if people find me tolerable, this is a dream job."
Jennings, the first of the "Jeopardy!" guest hosts to fill in for Trebek, expressed how bittersweet taking the game show podium would be in a December 2020 interview.
"I don't want to have it because it means we don't get Alex," Jennings said. "It's just sad for me to go out there, in a way, because I know that, like the audience, I wish it was Alex walking out at the top of the show."
Still, the show must go on, Jennings acknowledged. "'Jeopardy!' (is) a ritual for people," he says. "People rely on it."
Jennings sits in the top spot of the series' Leaderboard of Legends for consecutive games won (74, set in 2004) and highest winnings earned during regular-season play ($2,520,700). In January 2020, he triumphed in "Jeopardy!: The Greatest of All Time" tournament, beating out James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter, and earning the title of G.O.A.T.
'The Bear' and all the best TV shows of 2022 so far, definitively ranked
'House of the Dragon' trailer: It's war for the Iron Throne in 'Game of Thrones' spinoff