Jeopardy! went into the post-Alex Trebek era with a slew of guest hosts venerating the late icon as Sony Pictures Television vetted all of the potential candidates to take over permanent hosting duties on the game show. When the announcement was made that it would be producer Mike Richards and actress Mayim Bialik sharing the podium, the fan response was lukewarm. After a week of concerns at the naming of Mike Richards – in light of his position in the hiring process and past lawsuits – he stepped aside, and the search began anew for another host. Now, word has come down that Bialik will take over in the interim until a new and permanent host is found, Bialik is also slated to host the Jeopardy! primetime and spinoff series. She is currently scheduled to host 15 episodes of Jeopardy! when production resumes.
Bialik’s hiring has come with its own set of concerns as previous comments she made regarding vaccination have had people up in arms. While the actress has clarified her statement and confirmed she and her family were all vaccinated for COVID-19, the Internet remains awash with those calling for her to step down like Richards.
At the end of the day, it seems like those vocally against Richards and Bialik would only be satisfied if LeVar Burton were named as the new host of Jeopardy! A fan favorite who amassed 275,000 signatures on a petition to get the job, Burton garnered the lowest ratings of any of the guest hosts. Clearly nervous and making several mistakes during his week run on the show, he remains the front-runner for the masses. Hell, even Ryan Reynolds issued an endorsement for Burton via Twitter. That’s got to count for something, right Sony?
Sony does not seem like they will cave into the Internet on the hiring process, but no one expected things to go the way they have so far, either. Stay tuned as this situation continues to sort itself out in the coming weeks.