Jeopardy's Ken Jennings Marks Last Day as Guest Host, Thanks Viewers for 'Patience With Tough Learning Curve'

Hours after signing off as Jeopardy‘s inaugural interim guest host on Friday, Ken Jennings expressed gratitude to the game show’s legions of fans while also tipping his hat to his late predecessor, Alex Trebek.

“That’s a wrap on my six weeks of Jeopardy guest hosting,” the GOAT contestant tweeted. “Thanks for watching, thanks for your patience with a tough learning curve, and, as always, thank you Alex.”

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Jennings kicked off his six-week stint on Jan. 11. He was the first to step in for Trebek, who died of pancreatic cancer in November.

Beginning Monday, the guest-hosting baton will be handed to Jeopardy! exec producer Mike Richards. He will then be followed by Katie Couric, NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, 60 Minutes‘ Bill Whitaker and Big Bang Theory vet Mayim Bialik. Additional guest hosts will include CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta., as well as Dr. Mehmet Oz and Today‘s Savannah Guthrie.

A Jeopardy! source says it’s “TBD” whether Jennings will return to the guest-host rotation later this year. It also remains unclear when a decision about a permanent host will be announced, but TVLine readers have made it very clear who they want to fill Trebek’s iconic shoes. In a recent poll, a staggering 76 percent of you said Ken Jennings should take the full-time reins.

“Ken has done an outstanding job,” raved commenter Barry Kinske. “I find it hard to see how it could be done any better. Alex would be proud.”

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