'Jeopardy!' Just Announced How the Game Show Will Resume Without Alex Trebek
Legendary Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on Nov. 8.
The game show will resume filming with a rotation of guests hosts, beginning with Greatest of All Time tournament winner Ken Jennings.
Trebek’s final 10 episodes will air the week of Jan. 4.
After Alex Trebek lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on Nov. 8, a pressing question loomed over the Jeopardy! fandom: Who will host now? As many have said, no one can truly replace Trebek—who dedicated most of his life to the game show—which is why filming will resume with a rotation of interim hosts, beginning with Greatest of All Time tournament winner Ken Jennings.
According to a statement released by the show, production will resume on Nov. 30 with Jennings, “additional guest hosts to be announced.” Executive Producer Mike Richards added a personal statement, assuring fans that Trebek’s legacy will be preserved with the utmost honor and respect. “Alex believed in the importance of Jeopardy! and always said that he wanted the show to go on after him,” he said. “We will honor his legacy by continuing to produce the game he loved.”
Jennings shared that he’s glad to be a part of it. “There will only ever be one Alex Trebek, but I’m honored to be helping Jeopardy! out with this in January,” he tweeted.
Before the announcement was made, the internet did what it does best and enthusiastically curated a list of potential candidates for the job. Among them are Anderson Cooper, former Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton (More than 100,000 people have signed a petition to make him host), CNN analyst Laura Coates, and Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz.
Right now, it’s unclear how long the rotating hosts will lead the show, or how a potential permanent host will be selected. It’s possible that production plans to monitor each candidate’s viewer reception before a decision is made.
But fans have a few more weeks with Trebek behind the podium before the staff is officially passed down. According to a recent tweet from the show, Jeopardy! will air 10 of his best episodes the weeks of Dec. 21 and Dec. 28, and his final 10 episodes the week of Jan. 4, which he filmed just two weeks before his death. At the beginning of the Nov. 9 episode, Richards said his final 35 episodes will air as they were shot because that’s what Trebek “wanted.”