Pop Culture Jeopardy Won't Feature Ken Jennings, But Mayim Bialik Won't Be Back Either As Host
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Jeopardy went through a long process of trial and error in the effort to find a permanent host following the death of Alex Trebek. Eventually, Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik were tapped to split hosting duties before Jennings ultimately got the job full-time. Another version of Jeopardy is now on the way, and while one of those two seems like the most obvious choice, the nature of this new series makes somebody else a perfect fit. Fans of the franchise, prepare for Pop Culture Jeopardy with Colin Jost!
Colin Jost – best known for his Emmy-nominated writing on Saturday Night Live, suffering through "Joke Swap" with Michael Che during Weekend Update, and marrying Scarlett Johansson – will be the host of Pop Culture Jeopardy when it arrives on Prime Video. So, what will set this version of the show apart from the classic, currently hosted by Ken Jennings, since the classic will also include pop culture questions?
Well, Pop Culture Jeopardy is not only the first show in the franchise created exclusively for a streaming service, but contestants will play in teams of three to (hopefully) demonstrate their expertise in certain pop culture categories, such as The Avengers, MMA, Gen Z, and Zendaya. This will be a tournament-style series leading to a grand prize. All in all, if not for the iconic "answer in the form of a question" format, Pop Culture Jeopardy might not sound much like Jeopardy at all.
That said, Colin Jost's statement about hosting the show was short, sweet, and perfect Jeopardy. He said:
What is: I’m excited.
While neither Amazon Prime Video nor Sony Pictures Television confirmed when Pop Culture Jeopardy will premiere, production on the series will begin in August. The call went out for players for the new show way back in May, with the news that the Jeopardy franchise was looking for trios of trivia experts. The potential contestants had to first form groups of three and then take their own test, with the three individual test scores combined into a team score to determine whether that team will make it to the next round. The window to apply closed on July 26, just days before the announcement of Colin Jost as host.
According to the FAQs on the Jeopardy website, the broad genres of topics for Pop Culture Jeopardy include movies, TV, music, Broadway, books, social media, sports, fashion, Comic-Con, current and iconic events, fads, trends, and more. Of those, I'm most curious about current events and trends, because I can't help but wonder what kind of turnaround time there is between filming an episode and releasing it for Amazon Prime subscribers. If it's not quite quick, "current events" might not be so current anymore. After all, the news cycle moves very quickly nowadays.
For now, you can always watch the original Jeopardy, hosted by Ken Jennings. Just check your local listings and prepare to answer in the form of a question on topics that are not limited to pop culture!
