Jeopardy! execs have officially chosen the show’s current executive producer, Mike Richards, along with actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik as permanent hosts.
Sony Pictures Television made the announcement in a press release Wednesday.
“Richards will kick off Season 38 as the full-time host of Jeopardy!’s long-running daily syndicated program,” the company said. “Bialik joins as the host of Jeopardy!’s primetime and spinoff series, including the upcoming all-new Jeopardy! National College Championship set to air on ABC next year, as the studio looks to extend the Jeopardy! franchise to new platforms.”
The new hosts will replace Alex Trebek, who passed away in November after battling pancreatic cancer.
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Announcing Mayim Bialik and Mike Richards as our new hosts of Jeopardy! Richards will host the daily syndicated show, while Bialik will host primetime and spinoff series.https://t.co/MVQAqnKgjU pic.twitter.com/itY6fIe5Uv
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) August 11, 2021
Fans took to social media right after the announcement, with many expressing disappointment.
“I would have preferred @levarburton as the main host,” tweeted @JenneferTBG.
“The #Jeopardy decision is the epitome of patriarchy & white supremacy: the insider white man gets the job, the white Jewish woman with the Ph.D. gets a sop no one’s interested in, and the guest hosts of color…? *crickets*,” added @TheEldritchLib1 on Twitter.
@keithboykin wrote on Twitter: “So the whole LeVar Burton thing was just a setup to make room for this guy?”
@Cheese_Ho12 tweeted: “I love LeVar Burton. Sadly, he wasn’t very good on Jeopardy. He flubbed clues, got answers wrong, and read the clues haphazardly. Mayim Bialik was great, so I’m glad she’s involved. This other guy is a turd.”
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay tweeted she wants to give Burton his flowers: “Me trying to create a show right in this moment for @levarburton to host and make an international hit.”
Fans of the Star Trek actor had been petitioning for him to be named permanent host of the long-running trivia show, but he was passed over after filling in. Richards and Bialik also filled in, along with Katie Couric, Anderson Cooper, Bill Whitaker, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Aaron Rodgers, Robin Roberts and others.
Richards was rumored to be the frontrunner, even as he was dogged by controversy following the resurfacing of harassment and discrimination lawsuits at a previous job in 2010 and 2011.
Before joining Jeopardy! as executive producer, Richards worked as a co-executive producer on The Price Is Right. Bialik is best known for her starring roles on Blossom and the Big Bang Theory.
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