Ken Jennings Named New Jeopardy! Co-Host Through End Of Year

After a tumultuous few weeks, which saw new Jeopardy! host Mike Richards ousted, the long-running game show is trying to steady the ship. To do so they have turned to a very familiar face. Former champ Ken Jennings has been tapped to replace Richards at least through the end of the year Sony Pictures Entertainment announced Thursday.

Jennings was the first guest host in the wake of Alex Trebek’s death and will share hosting duties with The Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik. The actress had already signed on to host Jeopardy!’s primetime specials and spinoffs.

Jennings holds the record for the longest winning streak in Jeopardy! history with a 74-game run worth $2.52 million. He is a consulting producer on the show and has appeared in several special Jeopardy! tournaments, including the Ultimate Tournament of Champions in 2005, Jeopardy!: The IBM Challenge in 2011, the Battle of the Decades in 2014, and Jeopardy! All-Star Games in 2019. Jennings beat out fellow legendary contestants Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer in the ABC special event Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time.

The new season of the 41-time Emmy-award winning game show kicked off this week with five previously taped episodes from Richards. Starting from September 20th through November 5th, Bialik will take over as host. After that, she and Jennings will alternate the role as their schedules permit.

As reported by The Wrap, Jennings was the guest host with the highest rating, with an average Nielsen rating of 6.0, during his stint from January 11th, 2021 to February 19th, 2021. Bialik, who guested from May 31 to June 11, saw a 5.1 average.