Mayim Bialik, Bill Whitaker and Katie Couric will be the guest hosts of Jeopardy! … as the show moves slowly after the death of Alex Trebek
Celebrities including Mayim Bialik, 60 Minutes personality Bill Whitaker and Katie Couric are set to be guest hosts on Jeopardy! while the program continues to present a list of changes for guest presenters after longtime host Alex Trebek died of pancreatic cancer last November.
News from the aforementioned trio comes in the wake of the news Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will also be among the stars as a guest presenter for the next season of the quiz show.
“Alex was a legend, revered by all of us,” said program executive producer Mike Richards in a statement. ‘I want to thank our invited hosts, who will not only help us celebrate their great legacy, but will also add their personal touch to the program.’
Couric will make history as the first woman to host the program; the program will also donate to individual charities that each invited host chooses, donating the sum of earnings for the week he hosts.
Richards told Entertainment Weekly on Wednesday that the show was looking for ‘people who are reliable in giving the clues, people who can really give the clues accurately, who are able to decide what is right or wrong in the answers, and that Jeopardy! fans will like this role, but they will not try to become the star. ‘
He said: ‘There will be a wide variety of, I think, big names that you will say,’ Oh yes, of course ‘, and then my hope is that there will be a few,’ Oh, I had not thought of that person and would like to see how is hosting Jeopardy! ‘
Richards said he will host the program for a few weeks to give the next hosts enough time to ‘prepare for their presentations’.
The news from the aforementioned trio comes in the wake of the news Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will also be among the stars as a guest presenter for the next season of the quiz show
Ken Jennings, 46, paid tribute to the late Alex Trebek while he hosted Jeopardy! first Monday
The first guest host to follow Trebek – who has hosted the show for over 8,000 episodes since 1984 – was Ken Jennings, who won 74 consecutive games to capture the record for the longest winning streak program, as well as winning $ 1 million in JEOPARDY ! The Greatest of All Time a year ago.
‘Honestly, I’m with the audience,’ said Jennings in a clip before the show. – I don’t want me here. I want to see Alex here. I know exactly how they feel when they see someone behind this pulpit. ‘But there are tens of millions of people who love this show; we love this show, Alex loved the show. I am very happy to fill in and help. ‘
Big shoes to fill: the contestant champion of the game show is the first to present the series after Trebek’s death on November 8, at 80, from pancreatic cancer
Affectionately remembered: The Jeopardy! host died on November 8 after a battle with pancreatic cancer
Jennings started recording her episodes on November 30, 2020, when the beloved Canadian presenter died on November 8, less than two weeks before recording her last series of episodes in late October.
Richards, speaking to Today earlier this month, said Trebek ‘was in enormous pain’ amidst the recordings, but the consummate professional – ‘an absolute warrior’ – has moved on.
As for his replacement, Richards said Trebek had ‘mentioned a few names, but he wanted to stay out of it’ in general, as ‘no one is going to replace him, and he knew it’.
Moving on: guests are Jeopardy’s hosts! rudder starts with Jennings