Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will be the hosts of “Jeopardy!” — at least until the end of 2021.
Beginning Sept. 20, the pair will fill in as hosts of the syndicated game show after the exit of would-be host and former executive producer Mike Richards.
Bialik will host all of the show's episodes airing through Nov. 5. After that, she and "Jeopardy!" champ Jennings will "split hosting duties as their schedules allow," Sony Pictures Television announced Thursday.
The news comes nearly a month after Richards stepped down as Alex Trebek's replacement on Aug. 20 after apologizing for multiple controversies involving past lawsuits and sexist comments made on a podcast.
Richards apologized to the "Jeopardy!" staff members in an internal memo obtained by TODAY. “It pains me that these past incidents and comments have cast such a shadow on Jeopardy! as we look to start a new chapter,” he said.
Less than two weeks later, Richards was also out as the executive producer of “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune."
Suzanne Prete, a Sony executive for both “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!," sent a memo on Aug. 31 to both game shows' staffs informing them of Richards' departure.
"I’m writing to let you know that Mike will no longer be serving as EP of Wheel and Jeopardy! effective immediately,” Prete said in the memo. “We had hoped that when Mike stepped down from the host position at Jeopardy! it would have minimized the disruption and internal difficulties we have all experienced these last few weeks. That clearly has not happened.”
Richards had already filmed five episodes during his brief time as the game show's host. Those episodes began airing this week.
Bialik and Richards were named the two new hosts of the long-running game show on Aug. 11. The pair were set to work together to replace the late Trebek, who died from pancreatic cancer in 2020. Richards, 46, was to host the daily syndicated version of “Jeopardy!” while Bialik, 45, was tapped to host prime-time and spinoff versions of the program.
After Richards' sudden departure, the “Big Bang Theory” alum — who earned a doctoral degree in neuroscience from UCLA in 2007 — agreed to host the nightly syndicated "Jeopardy!" for three weeks.
Both Bialik and Jennings, who holds the records for the longest winning streak and highest winnings in regular-season play on "Jeopardy!," both served as guest hosts in 2021 as the show worked on selecting a permanent emcee — a search that began anew after Richards' exit.
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