Jeopardy! Just Announced Who Will Host The Show In 2022

The search for the perfect host to take over "Jeopardy!" following Alex Trebek's death in November 2020 has been anything but easy. Of course, the job to replace the man who shaped the game show into it is for 36 years was bound to be difficult. But the journey has been especially complicated. That November, "Jeopardy!" announced that, after Trebek's last episode aired, fans would see a series of interim hosts, Variety reported. The first to step into the role was "Jeopardy!" champion Ken Jennings, who became a legend after winning 74 games in a row, per the outlet.

In August, Sony Pictures announced that then-executive producer Mike Richards would host the daily syndicated show permanently. The decision to hire Richards over fan favorites was received with skepticism by fans and outright criticism after The Ringer brought to light a series of misogynistic and antisemitic comments he made on a podcast. There were also lawsuits accusing him of sexist behavior at "The Price is Right," Deadline reported. The controversy resulted in Richards stepping down just days later and after filming only one episode. He was also ousted as executive producer, according to The New York Times.

Following those turbulent weeks, "Jeopardy!" shared that Jennings and "The Big Bang Theory" alum Mayim Bialik would continue to co-host the show through the end of the season. Now, "Jeopardy!" is updating fans on who they will see on their screens in 2022.

"Jeopardy!" fans who have gotten used to having Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings in their TV rooms have reason to celebrate. "Jeopardy!" announced via Twitter on December 8 that the "Call Me Kat" star and the show's most successful contestant will continue to co-host through its 38th season. "We are delighted to let you know our excellent and experienced team in front of and behind the camera will continue into 2022," the tweet reads. "Jeopardy!" also shared that Michael Davis will continue in his role as executive producer.

Fans were quick to react to the tweet, with the majority seemingly favoring Jennings. "I'm not delighted to hear it. We want Ken. No one asked for Mayim. Why is this hard?" one fan tweeted. But others argued Bialik has a place on the show, even if it means not as the main host. "Ken as regular host and Mayim as specials host is perfect. Ken has the Jeopardy gravitas to anchor the institution while Mayim's exuberance is so fitting for the special tournaments," tweeted another.

For her part, Bialik has expressed her desire to host "Jeopardy!" indefinitely. "There's no other job I would rather have," she gushed to Glamour in September.

Hosting "Jeopardy!" is undoubtedly a very strenuous task. The charisma, the mental wherewithal, and the understanding of the game's mechanisms are crucial to hosting the show successfully. The late Alex Trebek, who hosted the game show for over 30 years, surely made it look easy, which inevitably left eventual successor Ken Jennings quaking in his boots.

As the first host of "Jeopardy!" following Trebek's tragic death, Jennings opened up about the nerve-wracking initial experience of hosting and revealed, per USA Today, "[Last year,] I was just terrified, and I think rightfully so." He further continued, "I mean, Alex had just barely passed, and really no one else had hosted the show since 1974; like, literally, in my lifetime."

Jennings "knew that it was going to be a very difficult task" ahead of him, "much less the idea that you're trying to step into the shoes of Alex Trebek, which is impossible." He also called the hosting gig "tricky," stating elsewhere that "The mechanics of hosting 'Jeopardy!' are daunting." He acknowledged, "There's a lot going on at once, and Alex made it all look so easy. But I can tell you firsthand, it's not easy."

Ken Jennings wasn't alone in his initial fears of hosting "Jeopardy!" — former "The Big Bang Theory" star Mayim Bialik also expressed her nervousness in navigating the iconic game show. Speaking to People in March, Bialik revealed that there is "a lot of responsibility that falls on the host" and "a lot of iconic pressure."

The actor, who opined that she gets "nervous about everything," pondered how late host Alex Trebek would approach hosting at first. "When I was looking over some of the scripts, I was thinking, how would Alex [Trebek] say this?" she stated before realizing, "that's probably not who I'm expected to be, Alex Trebek, but in my head, I am Alex Trebek — that's who I want to be."

Elsewhere, she humbly added that "The idea is not to bring my personality to Jeopardy!, it's to provide a service as the host for those episodes to the best of my ability" and called the ability to host the show "one of the most iconic things I think that I'm ever going to do in my career."