Jeopardy! Permanent Host Announcement Spoiled Early?
Jeopardy! fans seem to have figured out who is going to be the permanent host of the popular quiz show and have revealed that fact early.
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Ever since the death of long-time Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek in 2020, the show has gone through a raft of hosting changes, from guest hosts, to disgraced hosts and currently co-hosts. However, if some investigative fans are to be believed, hosting duties on the hit game show, could be set for another change. Newsweek reports that Jeopardy! fans have found out who will be taking on permanent hosting duties for season 39 and beyond, and that man is none other than Ken Jennings.
Alex Trebek’s permanent replacement was originally going to be Mike Richards, however, shortly after Richards got the permanent hosting gig on Jeopardy!, past lawsuits and offensive comments made by the would-be host surfaced and Richards left both his hosting and executive producing roles. The Big Bang Theory actress Mayim Bialik stepped in to fill the void left by Richards’ hasty departure and eventually shared hosting duties with Jennings. Jennings stepped in to share the role of Jeopardy! host, having been the most successful contestant on the show, with the longest winning streak record. And now he is getting his shot to host permanently, according to fans.
The theory behind Ken Jennings taking on the role of permanent Jeopardy! host was born out of a particular soundbite from Ken Jennings’ podcast Omnibus. In a June 2 episode of the podcast, Jennings quips: “I’ve got to do Jeopardy! again.” Fans picked up on this quote and noted that season 38 filming for Jeopardy! is all wrapped up, thus confirming Jennings’ return for the 39th season of the show, this conclusion also led to fans surmising that America’s highest-earning game-show contestant will be the permanent custodian of the Jeopardy! lectern. However, this theory goes against a tweet Ken Jennings made several weeks ago where he mentioned he was handing the hosting reigns over to Mayim Bialik for the next few months. So perhaps Ken Jennings won’t be the permanent Jeopardy! host after all.
The signs point toward another season of the role of Jeopardy! host being shared between Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings. If both Jennings’s Tweet and Podcast quote are to be believed. Bialik certainly appears to have the faith of the produces behind the hotly contested game show, with reports suggesting the actress will be hosting the spin-off show Celebrity Jeopardy! However, the New York Post revealed that some fans aren’t as keen on Mayim Bialik being the host of Jeopardy! going forward, with a number of negative reactions across Twitter, following Ken Jennings announcing his hiatus from the show. The reaction is hardly surprising, given the fact that fans have also been vocal about Ken Jennings taking on permanent hosting duties for some time.
There is no official announcement has been made on who the permanent Jeopardy! host will be going forward, or whether the role will be shared for the foreseeable future. The majority of the vocal contingent of fans will be hoping the clues pointing toward a Ken Jennings being the permanent host prove to be correct. It would certainly be fitting and one would think that being the greatest ever contestant surely qualifies him to captain the Jeopardy! ship solo.
