Current Jeopardy! Champion Reveals Who They Want As Permanent Host
While Jeopardy! is still in search of a permanent host, Amy Schneider continues her impressive winning streak.
While Jeopardy! is still in search of a permanent host, Amy Schneider continues her impressive winning streak. She’s also gained quite a following, as fans tune in to watch her take out the competition. After spending some time on the show, the champion recently revealed who she thinks the perfect host would be. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Schneider said current interim Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings is doing a fantastic job, but she would be open to the coveted gig if she was asked.
“It would certainly be a cool experience,” Schneider told the publication on Monday. “It’s a lot harder than it looks. Whether I’d even be good at it, I don’t know… But yeah, I’d certainly consider it if somebody asked.” While her ambition is admirable, the competition for Jeopardy! host has been pretty close with Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik both doing well.
Mayim Bialik had an excellent stint as the quiz show’s host. The actress received a very warm welcome from viewers on her debut, with ratings rising by 6%. Ken Jennings’ debut as Jeopardy! host was also a huge success. During the first week of his six-week run, he brought in an average of 10.3 million viewers, making him the host with the highest ratings for the show’s 37th season.
Since the passing of longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, the show has been in a state of instability regarding his replacement. At first, the series ran with various guest hosts like Katie Couric, Aaron Rodgers, and LeVar Burton. Eventually, ABC decided to name the show’s executive producer Mike Richards as the new permanent host. But this decision was met with backlash as old lawsuits called Richards’ character into question.
While Richards tried to deny the allegations, he was unable to separate himself from the scandal. In August 2021 Richards stepped down from hosting duties, leaving Jeopardy! without a host once more. Eventually, it was announced that Mayim Bialik (of The Big Bang Theory fame) and former champion Ken Jennings would co-host the series until the end of 2021. The network has not revealed any new plans to replace them yet.
Meanwhile, Jeopardy! host hopeful Amy Schneider is making quite the name for herself on the show. Since debuting in November 2021, she’s been breaking records and making history for weeks. Her first record-breaking victory came when she won five consecutive games, becoming the first openly transgender contestant to qualify for the show’s annual Tournament of Champions. By December she had racked up a total of $745,200 on the quiz show – the fourth-highest winnings ever.
Amy Schneider’s next big victory took place on December 24th when she broke another record. The California resident overtook the previous winnings high from a woman contestant with a cool $706,800. The previous record-holder was Larissa Kelly, who earned $655,930 in regular play. And just last week, the 42-year-old software engineering manager won her 33rd straight game, beating James Holzhauer’s 32-day total to secure the third-longest winning streak in history. The win puts her five victories away from runner-up Matt Amodio. However, she’s still ages away from coming close to former champion and Jeopardy! host, Ken Jennings’ colossal 74-day run.
