Soon, Jeopardy! will head to primetime for one of its highest-stakes tournaments, The Greatest of All Time. Ahead of the high profile showdown between Brad Rutter, Ken Jennings, and James Holzhauer, ABC aired a special called What Is Jeopardy? Alex Trebek and America's Most Popular Quiz Show, to talk to beloved host Alex Trebek about the tournament, his health and the upcoming mega event. Trebek was candid on all fronts, and even detailed his plan for his final show on the program.
Though he has no specific date for when he'll resign from hosting duties, Alex Trebek told Good Morning America's Michael Strahan he has a game plan for how it will go on. The host, not wanting to play his cards close to the chest, revealed how his final show will most likely play out.
It’ll be a significant moment for me, but I’ve kind of, in my mind, rehearsed it already. What I would do that day is tell the director ‘Time the show down to leave me 30 seconds at the end,’ that’s all I want. I will say my goodbyes, I will tell people ‘Don’t ask me who’s going to replace me because I have no say in that whatsoever. But I’m sure if you give them the same love and attention and respect that you have shown me for the past 30 however many years then they will be a success and the show will be a success. Until we meet again, God bless you and goodbye.’
Alex Trebek isn't too demanding of the spotlight in terms of personal issues. His announcement of pancreatic cancer was very brief, and while he has been candid in a means to educate and support others suffering with the illness, he does his best to not let it interfere with Jeopardy! That's why Trebek re-iterated to Michael Strahan that he'll leave when he feels he's not performing his duties to the best of his abilities, but can't put a time on when exactly that may be.
Another bit of understated information is that Alex Trebek said he has no say in who will be picked as his successor to continue Jeopardy! when he's done. That means his joke pick of Betty White probably isn't in serious contention, but his more serious picks like CNN's Laura Coates may not be either. While Ken Jennings is another name that tends to float around as a successor, the bottom line is that Trebek is not the person to ask about Jeopardy!'s next host.
Related: Alex Trebek Got Emotional After Touching Message From Jeopardy Contestant
Jeopardy! The Greatest Of All Time tournament kicks off on ABC Tuesday, January 7 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Be sure to stick with CinemaBlend for big moments from the upcoming match up, and for the latest and greatest news happening in television and movies.
