US television
Jennings says he didn't expect the co-host to leave, but would like to tie Alex Trebek's record of 38 years as sole host
Wed, Dec 27, 2023, 10:00 a.m. GMT
Ken Jennings said he was as surprised as anyone when he found out he would be the solo host of Jeopardy!, the long-running US game show.
In an interview published Monday by , Jennings, the most famous contestant in the quiz show's history, said he didn't expect co-host Mayim Bialik's announcement that she was leaving.
“It surprised me because I loved working with my Mayim and I will miss her,” Jennings noted in the interview.
Jennings added that he “cannot speak to her decision-making or her opinion on it.” But he said he was open to serving as the show's solo host, describing the role as one he would like to keep for the same 38 years as his predecessor, Alex Trebek.
“It's such an honor and I'm hopefully looking forward to another 37 years of being a very, very old man,” said Jennings, who received a share of the long-term commitment after an interim break. In July 2022 he will appear as a guest lecturer together with Bialik.
Bialik, who appeared on the sitcoms Blossom and The Big Bang Theory, received an Emmy nomination this summer for her work on the quiz show. But recently she said Sony Pictures Television, the Jeopardy! produced, informed her that she would no longer appear as a presenter.
“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to be part of Jeopardy! Family,” said Bialik, who has occasionally stirred controversy with her comments on vaccines and politics.
Bialik did not elaborate on the reasons for her departure, although Sony did distribute a statement thanking her for her contributions to the show and saying it would continue to “work with her on primetime specials.”
Sony said Jennings would remain the “sole host” in hopes of “maintaining continuity for … viewers” of the quiz show, which aired in 1964 and requires contestants to provide answers in the form of questions.
Jennings achieved international fame by setting a record with 74 consecutive Jeopardy! appearances. Wins and prize money of more than $2.5 million in 2004. At the time, he was a computer software engineer.
After Trebek's death in November 2020, Sony chose Mike Richards as his long-term successor. But he resigned within two weeks because he made sexist, anti-Semitic and racist comments while hosting a podcast from 2013 to 2014.
Jennings said in Monday's interview that he was “extremely fortunate to have even been considered for this non-broadcaster job.”
“It's kind of strange bringing an ex-contestant back as host, and I've obviously learned as I go along,” Jennings said.
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