Ken Jennings Returning As Host Of Jeopardy! But For How Long?
Ken Jennings is offically returning to host Jeopardy! starting tonight, but the man might not be taking over as the permanent host for the show.
At long last, it has been officially announced that Ken Jennings is returning as the host of Jeopardy!, which will be starting during tonight’s broadcast of the show. However, there is a bit of a caveat to this announcement. Although there was a graphic placed up with the announcement of Jennings returning, he might not be returning to permanently host the show. Every Friday show, announcer Johnny Gilbert reveals the host for the upcoming week. He did announce Jennings, but with a more shortened statement that did not indicate the man taking over the permanent role.
Jeopardy! has had plenty of issues in the past six months, stemming from the fiasco that occurred with attempting to find a permanent host. Plenty of celebrities were tasked with taking over the show which included Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers, LaVar Burton, Katie Couric, and many more. Mike Richards also filled in and eventually was given the job to host permanently, but then resigned because of some comments made during a podcast. Many people were upset after they claimed that Richards was interviewing people to host only to end up with the hosting duties. This led to Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik hosting Jeopardy! but splitting up the time evenly.
Ken Jennings eventually left Jeopardy! to take a lengthy break, which was certainly earned. The man was not likely used to hosting such a demanding game show. Alex Trebek had been dedicated to the show and spent the better part of 36 years hosting without any interruptions. He almost never took a vacation, which is likely what the game show is looking for in its next permanent host. Jennings might have taken some time off just from the stress of splitting time with Mayim Bialik. He may be returning to host the popular quiz show, but he is likely not to want to take over for the foreseeable future.
Quite honestly, Mayim Bialik has been fine in the permanent host spot, though fans have been less thrilled about her for some odd reason. Apart from contracting COVID-19, she has appeared as graceful as ever while appearing on the show. However, fans have been clamoring for Ken Jennings to remain the host of Jeopardy!, although it sounds like the man is only attempting to help out for the time being. He likely has plenty of other business ventures that he would rather pursue than dedicate most of his time to a game show. This is just speculation, of course, but it could be true.
Fans can be happy about Ken Jennings sticking around to host Jeopardy! for now, but the quiz show will need to find its permanent host soon. The current season is set to wrap up on July 29th. The new season is said to begin shooting as soon as August 2nd, so there could and should be an announcement about the permanent host made sometime before then. At least that is the hope that this crazy drama with finding a host can finally be done with.
