After three years, it seems that Ken Jennings has officially settled into the role of Jeopardy! host. As a common fan of the series, I have thoughts on how things progressed after Alex Trebek’s death in November, 2018.

This is not going be anything like Claire McNear’s excellent piece that ended Mike Richards’ time with the show. Richards will be addressed, obviously, but nothing nearly as in-depth, and everything here will be what a single fan noticed from watching the show and reading media coverage.

Guest Hosts

When Ken Jennings was brought in as a producer and occasional clue presenter, it seemed he was being set up as a heir apparent. At the very least, he was apparently asked to fill in for a couple taping dates shortly before Trebek died, and he guest hosted for six weeks between Trebek’s final episode and the guest host parade.

As for the rest, they were an interesting mix. Katie Couric and Anderson Cooper are big names that did a good job. The other former (regular) contestant, Buzzy Cohen, did a fine job. Joe Buck and Aaron Rodgers were esoteric choices, but I enjoyed their runs. Mike Richards… I’ll get to him. LeVar Burton was the fan favorite; I thought he’d be a good pick but I wasn’t as “Burton or bust!” as a lot of posts I saw. Dr. Oz was the one I refused to watch. Of them all, I thought David Faber did the best job hosting.

Of those who didn’t get a chance, the three big names that feel wrong to me are Laura Coates, whom Trebek had personally named as a suggestion to be his successor, and the remaining Clue Crew members, Jimmy McGuire and Sarah Whitcomb-Foss. To my knowledge, none of them has commented on the process or whether they were invited.

During the whole process, I couldn’t help but wonder: Was this the succession plan they had in place for if Trebek died? The manifestation of a different plan? Something they had to come up with in a hurry because the COVID-19 pandemic messed with their other succession plan? Something they had to come up with in a hurry because they never had a succession plan? After it was done, the questions turned to…

Mike Richards

The day after Trebek died, executive producer Mike Richards recorded an intro to the show announcing the sad news and declaring that the final shows Trebek had recorded would air as intended. With his final episode originally set to air on Christmas Day, two weeks of reruns featuring special category presentations (Trebek dressing up in opera costumes, on location at Niagara Falls, etc.) were inserted to avoid preemptions. (Unfortunately that put January 6, 2021 in the final week, and there were preemptions that no one could have foreseen.) A memorial title card ran for the rest of the season. Overall, all this was very well-handled.

Richards would next appear on the show as the first two-week guest host. His introduction painted it as a last-choice option: Jennings was unavailable because of The Chase, they had some guest hosts lined up but this taping date was too soon to get someone, so, hi, Richards said, here I am. The distinct impression was that Richards was not a serious hosting candidate, which obviously turned out not to be the case. Later reports would further reveal that Jennings could have worked thiings out but Richards wanted his shot.

Richards was not a bad host. From what I’ve read he wasn’t anyone’s favorite, but he was competent and kept the game rolling. Had he stayed in the role, I think he’d have done fine and grown into it, but there were better choices. And it’s hard to ignore the fact that by choosing himself it called the whole process into question: Did anybody else have a shot, or had Richards decided the job was his before anything else? Then the reports came out, and Richards was forced to step down as host, and completely out as producer before the new season started.

(In hindsight, I wonder how he’d have done if he had let the Jeopardy! job go and waited – just three more years – for Pat Sajak to step down from Wheel of Fortune and taken that job.)

Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings

Jennings was a popular suggestion for an eventual successor as far back as his run in 2004. When he stepped into the guest hosting role, he was a natural: good at letting the clues, the game, and the players shine as the stars of the show, developing chemistry with the players, and with his history on the show, he’s able to make you believe he knows the stuff and not just because it’s printed on notecards in front of him. The behind the scenes information suggesting he was Trebek’s favored successor didn’t hurt.

Mayim Bialik was initially promising as a guest host, with many of the same strengths Ken had. As her stint rolled on, her tendency to giggle at odd times started to stand out more. She also would sometimes delay before accepting an obviously correct answer, creating awkward moments. I had thought as she grew into the hosting role these distractions would fade, but they never did. Still, she was a good host.

Shortly after the actors’ strike ended, it was announced Bialik was done. I was sad for her, but had long felt Jennings was the better option. It was a long bumpy road, but it was finally settled: Ken Jennings is the host of Jeopardy!, and it feel like they got it right in the end.

Next Week: Back to Star Wars: The Old Republic and Knights of the Eternal Throne.