The Internet Has a *Lot* of Thoughts About the New ‘Jeopardy!’ Hosts
Twitter is pretty mad, and we can't say we blame them.
After months of searching, Jeopardy! finally has its new hosts, and, well, this isn’t really what anyone expected. Mike Richards, who was already an executive producer for the game show and guest hosted previously, has been tapped to host the long-running series, succeeding original host Alex Trebek, who died last year. Mayim Bialik, who was also one of the guest hosts during the interim, will take on hosting duties for spinoff Jeopardy! shows.
After Trebek’s death, Jeopardy! set out to find a new host, asking a number of people to step in for guest-hosting duties. The network called on celebrities from all sectors of fame, including past contestant Ken Jennings, football player Aaron Rodgers, actor LeVar Burton, and Bialik (among many others). Each of the guest hosts drew criticism and love from the audiences—some more so than others. Burton, in particular, was a crowd favorite, and many thought that when the guest-hosting series ended, he’d be named the permanent host.
Though Richards was also part of the guest-host list, it feels safe to assume that no one actually expected the show’s executive producer to step into the permanent role. In fact, this whole thing has led plenty of fans to wonder if the guest hosts were nothing but a stunt all along. Richards, who previously worked on The Price Is Right and Let’s Make a Deal, made headlines earlier this month when concerns were raised about his history on those other game shows. According to People, issues of workplace discrimination were brought up and tied to Richards, though he said in a staff letter last week that those concerns were brought against the show and Freemantle Media, not him directly.
For her part, Bialik was liked well enough by audiences, but some still bring up some of the controversial things she’s said in the past, especially the op-ed she penned for The New York Times during the #MeToo era that felt victim-blamey. While she did apologize, many fans didn’t want to hear it.
Long story short: Fans really just have beef with this entire outcome.
It remains to be seen how well it’ll go down once Richards and Bialik take the famous podium during the show. Much of the internet is expecting the show to crash and burn, but we’re just kinda sorta hoping there’s enough backlash that ABC realizes Burton is the right person for the job and brings him in full-time.
