Katie Couric watched “Jeopardy!” – much.
It was something she and her late husband, Jay Monahan, liked together – even though he gave the right answers more often than she did.
“It would make me so furious,” Couric said in an “Jeopardy!” released on Sunday. “At the same time, I thought it was very hot.”
“Danger!” it has long been part of Couric’s life, but the way she watched the question and answer program changed when she agreed to be a guest presenter.
“I started watching religiously,” said Couric, adding that she spent a lot of time watching how Alex Trebek changed from category to category and how he expressed tracks or interacted with competitors.
“I loved the show, I loved Alex Trebek and I was very inspired by him – especially his courage at the end of his life,” said Couric. “And it’s an American institution, and the opportunity to play a small role in the continuation of the show was something that I just didn’t want to miss.”
Couric will be the first guest presenter for “Jeopardy!” from March 8 to 19. Your next season comes after “Jeopardy! Biggest All-Time champion Ken Jennings was the host for six weeks and “Jeopardy!” Executive producer Mike Richards ended two weeks as a host on March 5, Deseret News reported.
As the first person to take over after Trebek’s death in November 2020, Jennings said he was “beyond nervous” for being behind “Jeopardy!” pulpit hosting.
Couric feels exactly the same way.
“Of course I was nervous, are you kidding me?” she said during her “Jeopardy!” interview, adding that the team did a good job in helping her feel more relaxed and at home. “The last thing I wanted to do was come over here and mess up everything and embarrass the show, embarrass people backstage, and they just wouldn’t let me, for which I was very grateful.”
“Jeopardy!” De Couric’s debut falls on International Women’s Day. The journalist said she hopes that her time as an invited host will help inspire women to embrace learning and gain knowledge and send a message to the girls that “it is cool to be smart”.
“Being the first woman in a series that represents excellence, intelligence and integrity is a real honor for me,” said Couric. “I think that for a while the girls would reach a certain age and a half that they would restrain themselves, because they didn’t want to be seen as very aggressive, aggressive or smarter than the boys.
“But I think society has really changed and we are defending and celebrating smart girls and women,” she continued. “Be a sponge, be a lifelong learner and be proud of your intelligence and knowledge. It is a gift and share it with the world. ”
During your time on “Jeopardy!” Couric said she will make a donation to Stand Up To Cancer, an organization she founded in 2008. It is a personal cause, since her late husband, Monahan, died of colon cancer at age 42, and her older sister, Emily, died of pancreatic cancer – the same disease that took Trebek’s life.
Couric’s donation will equal the competitors’ cumulative earnings during the games she hosts and will be donated to pancreatic cancer research, according to a press release sent to Deseret News.
After Couric, Dr. Mehmet Oz will be the guest presenter “Jeopardy!” from March 22 to April 2. Aaron Rodgers, Greenback Packers quarterback, will be the guest host for two weeks, starting April 5, Deseret News reported earlier.
Other guest hosts include Anderson Cooper, “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, Dr. Sanjay Gupta – CNN chief medical correspondent – “Big Bang Theory” actress Mayim Bialik and “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker, from according to Deseret News.