Jeopardy’s temporary hosting solution is extending into the new year.
Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings, who have been sharing hosting duties for season 38 following the Mike Richards debacle, will continue to serve in the same capacity into 2022. Producers Sony Pictures Television said Wednesday that the duo will remain hosts through the end of the syndicated game show’s current 38th season, which ends July 29.
Michael Davies, who has been serving as interim showrunner after Richards was fired after selecting himself as the replacement host for the late Alex Trebek, will also continue through season’s end.
“We are delighted to let you know that Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will continue to share hosting duties through the end of Jeopardy! Season 38, and Michael Davies will remain as executive producer. We’re so pleased to have such an excellent and experienced team in front of and behind the camera as we head into 2022!” Sony tweeted on the Jeopardy Twitter account.
The move means a full-time replacement for Trebek will not be decided until season 39. Bialik has said that she wants to be the show’s full-time host but her production schedule on Fox’s second-year scripted comedy, Call Me Kat, currently stands as an obstacle.
Sources have maintained that Sony has no plans to test anyone else for the hosting role after the Richards-led parade of trial runs that many consider to have been performative in nature before the former EP ultimately selected himself for the role.
Richards was tapped as executive producer and showrunner of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune in 2019. He was announced as Trebek’s replacement in August, after which press — including THR — reported on his the previous discrimination lawsuits he was involved in during his time as executive producer on The Price Is Right. Other reports included the crude and offensive jokes he made during a short-lived podcast he hosted from 2013-2014. Richards filmed one day — a week’s worth of Jeopardy episodes — before stepping down as host. Sony fired him as showrunner not long afterward.
Bialik was tapped to host Jeopardy primetime specials, including the upcoming Jeopardy National College Championship. She and former champ Jennings have been splitting the hosting job as their schedules permit in season 38.
The delayed full-time hosting decision allows Sony time to see if Fox renews Call Me Kat for a third season. Bialik, like every broadcast scripted contract, is locked in to a six-year deal for the comedy series. Call Me Kat, which features a new showrunner for season two, returns Jan. 9 on Fox.
Source: Hollywood
