Mike Richards is no longer the host of Jeopardy!, as has been announced this morning.
In a statement from Richards, “it has become clear that moving forward as host would be too much of a distraction for our fans and not the right move for the show. As such, I will be stepping down as host effective immediately. As a result, we will be cancelling production today.”
“SPT will now resume the search for a permanent syndicated host. In the meantime, we will be bringing back guest hosts to continue production for the new season, details of which will be announced next week”.
This came as direct result of Claire McNear’s excellent exposé over at The Ringer, in which excerpts from Richards’ old podcast, The Randumb Show, resurfaced, in which Richards made remarks disparaging remarks regarding Jews, women & Asians.
According to my sources, one weeks’ worth of episodes have been taped at this point, and are scheduled to air September 13-17.
Editorially: Here at The Jeopardy! Fan, I am pleased that this partial step has been taken. However, I am still very much worried about Richards’ ability to continue in his role as Executive Producer. Many people, after feeling jilted about losing the host role that he so dearly coveted, might not feel as compelled to work as hard as they otherwise would (and I would say that I do not trust him not to sabotage the show itself.)
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Wow–I thought his run would be short-lived, but he didn’t even last as long as Rolf Benerschke lasted on Wheel of Fortune…
What a sad 12 months for our show.
He really should step down as Executive Producer as well. The only thing he has produced is an executive amount of badwill.
Yeah he can’t continue as the show’s executive producer anymore after the scam search he ran no longer trust him honestly put jeopardy on hiatus a few weeks and find a new executive producer and host.
No more guest hosts right now.
Give it to Maiam. Give her a year. And, yes, it seems troubling that Mike Richards would still be around the show now.
They’ve already announced they’d continue with guest hosts.
As for Mayim–while I agree it would be nice to “give it to her”, we don’t even know if she wants that. Her existing schedule or desires might not allow for such a role. None of us really know.
I’d say give Levar another week. I feel like it’s not a far leap to think he was set up to fail by this sham of a process.
and I still think he did a great job after finding his footing
I know a lot of people like Levar, but to me, his delivery and approach made it seem like he was still doing his childrens show. I just think others were better.
I agree, Robert.
I don’t think it’s possible to accurately judge LeVar’s hosting compared to everyone else – Mike went out of his way to hamstring him.
Why do so many people want Burton? I’m sorry but he wasn’t any good. He is better suited for children’s programming.
Hey Andy, is this speculation or something you’re hearing from your contacts? Pretty damning if it’s the latter.
I’m a psychologist. Part of my grad work was consumer psychology (marketing and advertising). I can explain exactly how Richards screwed Burton over. First, he was not an actual choice. It took a petition. He was placed near the very end. By that point, the ratings had already dipped. They were hemorrhaging viewers. There was no advertising to draw viewers back. Just “Next week LaVar Burton”.
Good move on the part of Sony. Public opinion swayed a corporate decision.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hal-le-lu-jah!
It is odd that Sony chose not to sweep him out the door altogether. In their statement, they make it sound as if they think he’s fixable: “ We have spoken with him about our concerns and our expectations moving forward…. It is our hope that as EP he will continue to do so with professionalism and respect.”
I guess their version of professional and respectful is that he doesn’t continue to voice the noxious views he did on that podcast. Has it not occurred to them that an overweight person might not feel comfortable coming on that show now? A short person? Someone with a big nose? Someone who’s Jewish? Someone from Haiti? Heck, someone who’s been on unemployment.
Richards cast a large net with his ugly talk. Sony should’ve cut bait and sent him out to sea.
We’ve seen who and what Mike Richards is. Andy is right. He has no business continuing to be associated with this show in any way.
I think the best choice would be, assuming it doesn’t contrast with their current plan, giving the guest hosts who only ran for a week (George Stephanoupoulos, Robin Roberts, Levar Burton, David Faber, and Joe Buck) another week’s worth of episodes to host so that it’s an even playing field with everyone else. Plus, the last four would probably be very happy to see Matt again (assuming his streak lasts that long, of course.)
I know Ken got six weeks, but my theory is that the show needed more time to choose guest hosts and wanted the host until then to be a familiar face that people watching had already seen.
I’m still surprised other game show host veterans aren’t being discussed. I appreciate that guest hosts were needed to fill out this season. Other game shows have changed hosts without all the drama. They just plugged in a new permanent host. It’s almost like the show was caught off guard when the inevitable happened with Alex.
A co-worker of mine suggested to me the “perfect” host:
–A former Jeopardy! champion
–A celebrity reputation which is entirely based on facts and knowledge
–A relatively clean social media history
As Johnny Gilbert might someday say: “Please welcome the new host of Jeopardy: IBM Watson!”
YAY!! Now I can continue watching my favorite show!🎉
Please bring back Aaron or Joe Buck. They make it fun.
Ken Jennings for host!!!
I agree 100%.
YES! I hope Ken is back in the mix now. I had been fully in favor of his hiring until Mayim Bialek did her two weeks so I’m hoping even more that she will have a much bigger on camera role now. I was annoyed that she was being relegated to “spin offs” and “specials” – TOC? And my solid third favorite was Aaron Rodgers so maybe he’ll also be under consideration again.
I adore Levar but even as he got better over his week and favor him getting another guest shot, I don’t see him as being the most suitable in a permanent role because he could never quite shake that over-the-top excited staccato tone about correct answers.
I was an Anderson Cooper fan when he hosted The Mole back in the mid 2000s and he was OK as guest host but he was just average.
Ken Jennings was very good. I’d keep watching if he was given the job.
I want Ken Jennings to be the new permanent host! He was the only one that had a very improved experience for me. The rest of the guest hosts were okay. I like Mayim Bialik. She was very helpful and so awesome! Her and Ken Jennings! I just think that the 74-game winner also deserves to be the next Jeopardy! host.
Finding a permanent host for a game show is an outdated concept. In sports, the referees aren’t the same for many reasons. In news programs, the presenters aren’t the same (e.g. CBC’s The National after Peter Mansbridge left). Actually, having someone hold such a permanent position just invites unneeded criticism, especially in the world of social media.
The solution is to have a rotation of 4-5 hosts that change every two weeks, provided the budget can accommodate this. I really do not see the fascination of having a permanent face of Jeopardy! when really the clues and contestants are the driving forces behind its success.
This a pyrrhic victory, at best. He named himself Executive Producer and he’s not sorry for his past behavior.
Very big step in the right direction. I also call into question the judgment of the Sony Pictures executives, including Tony Vinciquerra, who was reportedly the person who chose Mike to be the permanent host. The lack of prudence that surrounded his/Sony’s decision making is astounding.
Seems just another example of how insulated from reality the entire mass media/entertainment industry is. And many seem to resent being forced to actually consider the views and wishes of their “target audience”.
The fact that they obviously didn’t bother to vet Richards whatsoever (before hiring him as EP, AND before hiring him as host) is a damning indictment of the execs at Sony, and keeping him around even just as EP reflects incredibly horribly on their judgment (or lack thereof).
There were some good hosts that tried out. Jennings, for one, A. rogers for another. I think it definitely should be a man. Hard to fill the position of Alex but for a woman to try, won’t work….and I am a female.
From what I have seen from Brooke Burns on The Chase and now Masterminds, I think she would be excellent. Also, what we don’t know, and probably never will, is whether some people we would like to see do the show may have declined.
Oh, please. By that logic, no woman should ever be allowed to fill a job that had always previously been held by a man. So…I guess Kamala Harris shouldn’t be vice president. I guess we should never have had the first female astronaut, surgeon, firefighter, etc., etc., etc.
Savannah Guthrie did a very good job as host along with a number of other guest hosts. I don’t know why so few give her credit.
Keep in mind that not all of the guest hosts over the past 6-7 months were auditioning for the job, some were just doing it as a guest. The “rotating guest host” format was to both audition a new host and to pay homage to the show.
Let Sony tell us who is genuinely interested in the permanent role and we can objectively assess the candidates.