Ken Jennings, the most famous contestant in Jeopardy! history, will guest-host the game show’s first newly filmed episodes since the death of longtime host Alex Trebek.
Sony Pictures announced Monday that Jennings — the winner of Jeopardy!‘s “Greatest of All Time” tournament and record-holder for both the show’s longest win streak (74) and highest regular season winnings ($2,520,700) — will be the first interim host when the trivia series returns to production on Monday, November 30th.
Trebek died in early November at age 80 following a long battle with cancer.
“Alex believed in the importance of Jeopardy! and always said that he wanted the show to go on after him,” Jeopardy! Executive Producer Mike Richards said in a statement. “We will honor Alex’s legacy by continuing to produce the game he loved with smart contestants and challenging clues. By bringing in familiar guest hosts for the foreseeable future, our goal is to create a sense of community and continuity for our viewers.”
Jennings addressed the news on Twitter, writing, “There will only ever be one Alex Trebek, but I’m honored to be helping Jeopardy! out with this in January.”
Jeopardy! clarified in its announcement that “a long-term replacement host will not be named at this time.” Additional guest hosts will be revealed soon.
The series also plotted its upcoming broadcast schedule. In memory of the late Trebek, Jeopardy! will show 10 of his “best episodes” during the weeks of December 21st and December 28th. The final installments he filmed will air the week of January 4th, 2021, and the interim host episodes will begin airing January 11th.
From Rolling Stone US
