Fans have been very vocal about which “Jeopardy!” host they want to see take over after the late host Alex Trebek, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in November 2020.
Sony has now decided that both “Greatest of All Time” tournament winner Ken Jennings and “The Big Bang Theory” alum Mayim Bialik will be hosting the show following a long string of guest hosts that once named former executive producer Mike Richards as the new host in what fans consider to be one of the biggest scandals in “Jeopardy!” history.
Regardless, the new executive producer, Michael Davies, has been seemingly frustrated by the backlash that the two new hosts have received. While some fans strongly believe that Ken should be the only host of the show, other fans feel just as strongly about Mayim. In the end, though, Davies wants fans to understand “This show is so hard to host.”
‘Jeopardy!’ Executive Producer Michael Davies Addresses Hosting Criticism Of Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik
In a new interview with Vulture, Michael Davies said, “This show is so hard to host,” adding, “Alex made it his own… I do read everything, and look, the strongest thing we’ve got is the passion of our fans. I wish many of our fans were more patient in understanding that we’re dealing with two hosts.”
“Mayim is a very experienced actress. Ken is a very experienced ‘Jeopardy!’ player. They’re both at the beginning of their hosting careers,” Davies said, adding, “I’ll do everything I can to make this successful.” He also explained that he takes feedback he gets from fans very “seriously.”
When asked if fans seem to favor one host over another, Davies was quick to say, “I couldn’t give you an absolute number.” Davies explained, “In terms of the tiny percentage of our audience that do go on Reddit or Twitter, there are Ken fans and there are Mayim fans. There are some people who love ‘Jeopardy!’ and will watch both. We also have various fans who post that they don’t like either of them.”
However, he said that, when it comes down to the ratings, there is “zero difference” depending on who is hosting, noting that it’s “exactly the same” between the two hosts. That being said, he does support the decision to have Ken Jennings step in as host after Mike Richards stepped down only a week after he named himself as the new “Jeopardy!” host.
Michael Davies Says ‘I Stand By The Decision To Bring Ken In’
Although Mike Richards was scheduled to take over hosting the show and Mayim Bialik was tapped to host primetime events, she ended up hosting the beginning of season 38 after Mike Richards stepped down. Ken Jennings, who served as the first guest host after Trebek passed away, was later brought on to serve as another host when Mayim was away filming her sitcom “Call Me Kat,” which was recently canceled after its third season.
“I stand by the decision to bring Ken in and have Ken be a second host along with Mayim. I back both of them. I go to the studio every day and try to make both of them better at hosting the show and make a better program environment around them. They have my full support,” Davies said.
That being said, there are some fans who would still prefer Ken to be competing on the show. James Holzhauer, who is currently competing in the all-new “Greatest of All Time” tournament, said he wants to have a rematch against Ken Jennings, who is serving as the host of the show. Ken recently revealed that he has retired from competing, which is exactly what Michael Davies told Vulture when asked if there was a chance that Ken could compete again.
“Ken has very directly told me he’s retired from Jeopardy!. I understand the reason that no one who’s hosted can ever play again. But Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus played the Masters long after they were hosting tournaments on the PGA,” Davies explained, comparing “Jeopardy!” to golf. “I’m probably more open to the idea than other people, but that would never be my decision. Would I like to see Ken and James play again? Absolutely. We’ll see.”
