Jeopardy! continued its streak at the Daytime Emmy Awards, picking up its third straight award for Outstanding Game Show at the June 24 ceremony, even as the past year has likely been its most tumultuous. More than a year after iconic host Alex Trebek died, Jeopardy! still has yet to name a permanent replacement after the appointment and subsequent firing of former executive producer Mike Richards. New EP Michael Davies, however, indicated a hosting announcement is coming soon, and it might not be as simple as, “Is it Ken Jennings or Mayim Bialik?”
Ken Jennings, one of Jeopardy!’s winningest contestants, and Call Me Kat actress Mayim Bialik have been sharing hosting duties since Mike Richards was forced to step down from the position after just one day of filming, following backlash from resurfaced offensive comments and discrimination lawsuits. Since then, fans have been clamoring to know who would continue as full-time host after Season 38? Michael Davies told Variety we may not have to wait much longer to find out, and it sounds like big plans are in the works for the quiz show:
We hope to have a hosting announcement very, very soon. But 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.
It definitely sounds like the days of one person being the face of the franchise are over, with Michael Davies talking about “multiple hosts” and “more versions” of Jeopardy! When ABC announced its Fall 2022 schedule, it included the spinoff Celebrity Jeopardy!, so does that mean we could see different people behind the lectern for each different tournament or spinoff? (And is there any hope that Will Ferrell could reprise his Saturday Night Live impression of Alex Trebek?)
That was certainly the plan before, when Mike Richards was made host of the daytime show and Mayim Bialik was hired to handle primetime episodes and other tournaments. So will Ken Jennings simply take the place of Richards on the daytime portion? Not necessarily. Former Jeopardy! champ Buzzy Cohen — who stepped in as host of the 2021 Tournament of Champions — seemed to indicate on social media that Mayim Bialik may not be the chosen host for Celebrity Jeopardy!:
pic.twitter.com/ggdjiktnY9June 17, 2022
While his tweet was pretty vague — and didn’t say whether he was talking about himself leading the spinoff or someone else, Buzzy Cohen had fans convinced that he would again grace the Alex Trebek Stage, when Cohen tweeted the next day about the camera guys on an “as yet unannounced project.”
So who will be the subject of Michael Davies’ big upcoming announcement? Will it be a combination of Ken Jennings, Mayim Bialik and Buzzy Cohen? How many different hosts will the franchise need to “represent the entire audience”? Season 38 of Jeopardy! ends July 29, so check your local listings to see when and where to catch it in your area. And while we wait to hear more about Jeopardy!’s hosting situation, check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what shows are premiering soon.
