Mike Richards Entering Advanced Negotiations In Order To Become Permanent Host Of ‘Jeopardy!’

Aug 05, 2021

"Jeopardy!" is a game show that was created by Merv Griffin and debuted on Mar. 30, 1964. Over 50 years old, the show is still beloved by viewers worldwide even today. Throughout the decades, the show has accumulated a wide viewership of people of all ages, as well as professional accolades. The show has an incredible record of 39 Emmy Awards and one Peabody Award. There are even versions of "Jeopardy!" in other countries such as Australia, Germany, China, Azerbaijan, Argentina, and more. 

Although the show has had multiple hosts over the years, Alex Trebek — who hosted the show for 37 seasons in total — is probably the most well-known and beloved host of the series. Aside from "Jeopardy!" Trebek hosted other shows such as "The Wizar of Odds," "Double Dare," "High Rollers," "Classic Concentration," and many others. Although Trebek is originally from Canada, he became a naturalized United States citizen in 1998. Trebek was so good at his job as a host that he won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host for his work on "Jeopardy!" alone.

Unfortunately, Trebek passed away from pancreatic cancer on Nov. 8, 2020. Since then, a number of different people have had the honor of hosting the popular game show. Sony Pictures Television, the production company behind the evening favorite, opted for a rotating number of different hosts while the search for a permanent successor was ongoing. Now, almost a year after Trebek's passing, it seems the search is coming to a close. Mike Richards, who took up the post of executive producer of the show after the previous one retired in 2020, has entered advanced negotiations to fill in Trebek's footsteps.

Since Trebek's death in early November 2020, Jeopardy! fans have been wondering and guessing who might take over his role. Names that have been floated included ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos, Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton, and former contestant Jennings, according to CBS.

Jennings is best known for his title as the contestant to have made the highest winnings on the show during a regular season, as well as to have won the most consecutive games. He also took part as a contestant on Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time tournament back in January 2020. Jennings won the tournament, making him among the best players the show has ever seen.

Jennings later returned to host the show for six weeks as one of the several interim hosts the show has seen in the meantime. His short stint as the show's presenter ended in February 2021. He marked his leaving with a post on Twitter, stating: "That's a wrap on my six weeks of 

@Jeopardy guest hosting. Thanks for watching, thanks for your patience with a tough learning curve...and, as always, thank you Alex." 

Up next to take on the mantle of Trebek after Jennings was Mike Richards, the show's executive producer. Shortly after Trebek's death, Richards had already spoken out about the future vision for the show to CBS News:

"Alex believed in the importance of Jeopardy! and always said that he wanted the show to go on after him. We will honor Alex's legacy by continuing to produce the game he loved with smart contestants and challenging clues. By bringing in familiar guest hosts for the foreseeable future, our goal is to create a sense of community and continuity for our viewers."

Richards was followed by other guest hosts that took their turns fronting the show since the final Trebek episodes aired. Among them are notable people such as Mayim Bialik, Anderson Cooper, Katie Couric, Bill Whitaker, Mehmet Oz, George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts, LeVar Burton, Savannah Guthrie, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Aaron Rodgers and former contestant Buzzy Cohen.

Richards came to work for Sony in 2019 as the executive producer of the celebrity edition of the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" specials which aired on ABC.

Previously in his career, Richards had worked as the host of the reality shows "High School Reunion" on The WB network as well as "Beauty and the Geek." He left the reality show genre and joined "The Price Is Right" in 2008 as the game show's co-executive producer. Just the following year he became executive producer and helped along the revival of "Let's Make a Deal" by pitching it to CBS, later also becoming executive producer of this game show. By the time he took the reins of "Jeopardy" in 2019, Richards had already produced more than 4,000 hours total of game shows.

According to Variety, Richards impressed Sony Pictures officials with his command of the fast-paced game and his friendly on-air manner.

A Sony Pictures spokesman reportedly stated that discussions were ongoing with several potential candidates still in the running. The spokesperson would not comment specifically on Richards' status at this point in time. However, according to sources close to the situation, Richards is clearly the front-runner.

What do you think about Jeopardy!'s potential new host? Do you think Mike Richards would be the right fit for the popular game show? Tell us what you think and pass this along to friends and fellow fans!