Sony Pictures Entertainment announced today that Mike Richards and Mayim Bialik would share hosting duties on Jeopardy! when the show returns for its 38th season later this year, with Richards hosting the regular version of the show and Bialik hosting “primetime and spinoff series, including the upcoming all-new Jeopardy! National College Championship.”
The former co-host of Beauty and the Geek and the 2012 reboot of The $100,000 Pyramid, Richards has served as an executive producer of Jeopardy! since 2020 and will continue in those duties while hosting the show. Bialik is best known for her roles on The Big Bang Theory and Blossom, and she also has a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA.
Richards and Bialik will take over for longtime host Alex Trebek, who passed away in late 2020 following a pancreatic cancer diagnosis; his last episodes aired in January 2021. Throughout the rest of its 37th season, the show used a long list of guest hosts to fill in for Trebek at the podium, including Richards and Bialik but also former Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings, newscasters Katie Couric and Anderson Cooper, and book enthusiast LeVar Burton.
After news of Richards’ potential selection began circulating earlier this month, he sent a memo to the Jeopardy! team claiming that he did not have final say over who the new host would be.
“I know I have mentioned this to you all before, but the choice on this is not my decision and never has been,” wrote Richards. “Throughout this search, Sony’s top priority has always been to continue the incredible legacy you and Alex built. As you know, Alex always believed the game itself and the contestants are the most important aspects of the show, and that will continue to be the guiding principle as the decision is finalized.”
The memo also addressed allegations that Richards had discriminated against several pregnant employees while serving as executive producer of The Price Is Right. (Both suits were eventually settled.)
“These were allegations made in employment disputes against the show,” wrote Richards. “I want you all to know that the way in which my comments and actions have been characterized in these complaints does not reflect the reality of who I am or how we worked together on The Price is Right.”
Listing image by ABC
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