Robert Hanashiro, USAT

Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will split 'Jeopardy' hosting duties through December

By Megan Armstrong | Last updated 9/16/21

The Mike Richards aftermath has been resolved, for now.

Richards had been announced as the new permanent co-host of Jeopardy! alongside Mayim Bialik in August, only for past behavior of discrimination and harassment of female employees from his time at The Price Is Right to resurface and cause him to step down nine days later.

Jeopardy! initially intended to keep Richards on as executive producer of the show and Wheel of Fortune, as reported by The New York Times, but he was ultimately fired altogether by the end of August.

Richards had recorded five episodes before stepping down, and those served to launch Season 38 of the storied trivia series this week. However, moving forward, episodes of Season 38 will be co-hosted by Bialik and Ken Jennings through at least December:

Beginning Monday, September 20, Bialik is hosting several weeks of episodes, which will air through November 5. After that, Bialik and Jennings will split hosting duties as their schedules allow through the end of the calendar year.https://t.co/uGYtm5ppdK
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) September 16, 2021

“Bialik, an acclaimed actress, author, host and neuroscientist, who is well-known for her award-winning role on The Big Bang Theory, was a fan-favorite during her two-week tenure as guest host in May and June,” the official release outlined. “Jennings auditioned for Jeopardy! in 2004, and went on an unprecedented 74-game victory streak worth $2.52 million. He then went on to appear in several special Jeopardy! tournaments, including the Ultimate Tournament of Champions in 2005, Jeopardy!: The IBM Challenge in 2011, the Battle of the Decades in 2014 and Jeopardy! All-Star Games in 2019.”

The search for a permanent host to replace Richards will continue during this time — a search that began when Alex Trebek, the beloved face of Jeopardy! since 1984, died last November after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 80.

Trebek’s final episode posthumously aired in January, and the remainder of Season 37 was completed using a range of guest hosts.

Megan Armstrong (@megankarmstrong) is a writer with previous work appearing in places such as Billboard, Bleacher Report, GQ and others. She's most interested in writing about people and how they live their lives, through the framework of music, entertainment and sports.

More must-reads: