According to an exclusive by Variety, Mike Richards has reached an advanced negotiations stage with Sony Picture Television to host its famous quiz show Jeopardy. Alex Trebek had hosted the show for the past 36 years until his demise in November 2020. Following this there have been a series of guest hosts and now it is most likely that the show will have a permanent host.
Although talks have reached an advanced level, a Sony Pictures spokesman said that talks were on with several candidates. A source who is familiar with the matter said that Mike Richards was the frontrunner as he has impressed the top honchos at Sony with his manner on air as well as his fast-paced command of the game, but he might or might not close the deal.
Other guests who hosted the long and popular show after final episodes with Trebek were on air in January include
- Mayim Bialik
- Anderson Cooper
- Bill Whitaker
- Mehmet Oz
- Katie Couric
- Ken Jennings
- George Stephanopoulos
- LeVar Burton
- Robin Roberts
- Savannah Guthrie
- Sanjay Gupta
- Aaron Rodgers
- Buzzy Cohen
Jeopardy is ranked as an institution in the history of television as a popular show mainly due to its long-standing host Alex Trebek.
Former contestant Jennings has been considered as a likely successor to Trebek. He has won 74 consecutive games of Jeopardy from 2004. He has also won the largest amount of money, grossing $2.52 million in regular play winnings. He has also won a lot of money in later tournaments. However, recent indication show Mike Richards could be ahead in the long line of potential hosts.
Mike Richards joined Sony as an executive producer of ABC celebrity specials of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.” He has had a long career hosting reality show such as
- High School Reunion – the WB Network
- Beauty and the Geek – The CW
He has also been the co-executive producer or executive producer of
- The Price Is Right – 2008
- Let’s Make A Deal – 2009
He had produced more than 4,000 hours of gameshows by the time he joined Jeopardy. The competition to host the everlasting game show Jeopardy is very strong. May the best host win.
Image Bennilover
