The “Jeopardy!” announced Wednesday that Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik would continue to share hosting duties until 2022, ending, for now at least, months of speculation and drama about who would permanently succeed Alex Trebek, the more than 36-year-old host.
For months after Trebek’s death last year, the game show’s producers struggled to decide who would replace him. For weeks, they went through a series of guest presenters, including Jennings, a former champion of the show who won a record 74 games in a row, and Bialik, an actress known for her roles on the sitcoms “The Big Bang Theory” and “Blossom”. . “
Other invited hosts included such well-known television personalities as Anderson Cooper, Katie Couric, and LeVar Burton.
On August 11, Sony announced that it had named Mike Richards, an executive producer of the show, as permanent host of “Jeopardy!” At the time, Bialik was also named the host of primetime specials and spin-offs.
But on August 20, Richards abruptly resigned from the hosting job after a report by The Ringer revealed offensive and sexist comments he had made on a podcast several years ago, the latest in a series of scandals that affected his brief tenure.
Instead, Bialik and later Jennings became guest hosts on the regular show, splitting tasks until the end of 2021.
Both Jennings and Bialik have faced criticism for previous comments. Jennings apologized last year for insensitive tweets he made, including about people using wheelchairs. Bialik has sparked controversy on various topics, including a “brain health supplement” it endorsed for a company that faced a lawsuit accusing it of false advertising and for writing in a 2012 book about the “informed decision not to. vaccinate our children. “
He clarified last year that his children would be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
In his ad Wednesday, “Jeopardy!” said executive producer Michael Davies would remain in that role. Davies, a veteran game show producer who developed the original US version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” had replaced Richards as executive producer on “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune”.
Despite controversies over who would host “Jeopardy!”, The show, which first aired in 1964, has continued to be a television institution, attracting a weekly audience of more than 20 million.