Jeopardy! Hires Two Replacement Hosts And One Is A Former Big Bang Theory Star
Here are the two new permanent hosts for Jeopardy!.
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Jeopardy!, one of the most revered American television game shows, just concluded its search for the new permanent host of the show, set to replace the late Alex Trebek. The show’s executive producer, Mike Richards, has been named the new permanent host of the syndicated game show. The former The Bing Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik will host Jeopardy!’s primetime and spin-off series.
As reported by Deadline, a group of senior executives at Sony Pictures Television (SPT) went over footage from every episode, reviewing each of the guest hosts’ performances, and finally found a permanent replacement for the incomparable Alex Trebek. Mike Richards, who emerged as a frontrunner early in the search, was quietly appointed as the permanent host of the syndicated program a couple of weeks ago while his deal with SPT was being finalized.
Richards, who already has the hosting experience, having worked on The Price is Right television game show, was well received by the fans of Jeopardy! when he served as a guest host earlier this year, along with LeVar Burton and a slew of other celebrities. And though LeVar Burton, who admitted to having a rough hosting experience, was a sentimental favorite, Richards emerged as a clear frontrunner early on, alongside Jeopardy! champion and guest host Ken Jennings.
Of course, Richards’ road to Jeopardy! host was a rocky one due to the reemergence of lawsuits from his decade-long tenure as the executive producer of The Price Is Right, alleging him for gender-based discrimination and harassment. Despite his involvement being dismissed at the time, Richards addressed the complaint by stating that the allegations in question were made in employment disputes against the show and that any comments and actions characterize in said complaints do not reflect him as a person or describe the work culture on The Price Is Right game show.
The new permanent host of Jeopardy! also welcomed Mayim Bialik, a former star of the show The Big Bang Theory, commenting how her academic track record and enthusiasm for the game made her a terrific guest host. He also said that its a privilege to produce the primetime series with Bialik as the host. In fact, the former star of The Big Bang Theory, Mayim Bialik, is the only one among the nerd collective to actually have a Ph.D. in neuroscience. This correlated with her portrayal of Amy in The Big Bang Theory, who was a neurobiologist. Her performance in the show earned her Emmy Award nominations in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
Jeopardy! is one of the longest-running television game shows in America, with the daytime version airing since 1964. Its long history of 8,000 episodes combined with the show’s specific style amassed it a vast viewership and many awards and accolades from professional television critics, earning a record 39 Daytime Emmy Awards. By 2013, Jeopardy! gained a worldwide following with regional adaptations in many other countries, making it into one of the greatest game shows to ever be televised.
