Jeopardy! hasn’t been the same since longtime host Alex Trebek passed away in late 2020 from pancreatic cancer. After short-lived host Mike Richards resigned due to past offensive comments he made resurfaced, a new hosting plan was in place for Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings, one of Jeopardy!’s biggest winners, to fill in Trebek’s big shoes. With Bialik not returning to the iconic game show and Jennings as the new sole host, former champion Austin Rogers weighs in on how he feels about all of this.
TVLine said that Sony let go of Mayim Bialik as host to “maintain continuity for our viewers,” meaning they didn’t think having two hosts was a good idea. 2017’s 12-time champion Austin Rogers gave his opinion to TMZ at his Gaf East bar on how he felt about the Blossom actress being dropped and having Ken Jennings be the new sole host:
She still will be able to bring her star power to the multitude of primetime Jeopardy! specials that are still on the books for her contract. So, I think we’re building a really nice balance right now with Ken giving our bread and butter fans their daily experience and Mayim being able to yield her years of Hollywood expertise and her star power to the primetime apogee games.
When Mayim Bialik skipped the final week of Jeopardy! to stand in solidarity with the Writer’s Strike, Ken Jennings stepping in as the only host made Sony realize co-hosts weren’t necessary for the show. Plus, it doesn’t mean that audiences will be without Bialik’s hosting duties completely as she could still host Celebrity Jeopardy! and other primetime tournaments. According to Rogers, he thinks audiences will enjoy themselves having the highest-earning game show contestant there as a regular with the Beaches actress still drawing viewers in her hosting appearances.
It was easy for fans to battle it out online on whether Mayim Bialik or Ken Jennings was a better Jeopardy! host instead of accepting both of them for who they were. While there’ve been some haters being critical of Bialik’s performance as host, the game show GOAT had some fans unhappy too. An insider claimed Jeopardy! viewers weren’t happy Jennings stepped in for Bialik while she was on the picket line, being described as an “opportunist” and showing “his true colors.” Austin Rogers gave his honest opinion on Jennings being the Merv Griffin-created show’s new host.
Ken has earned the job. He is a great human being. He’s incredibly funny and he’s so warm and kind. And, I mean, Ken Jennings has been synonymous with the word 'Jeopardy' for well over, I believe, seventeen decades because he is an ageless vampire who shall live forever. [...] I think he’s earned the syndicated day-in, day-out job.
It looks like Ken Jennings has Austin Rogers’ vote. Former Jeopardy! champs and celebrities may go back and forth on who the better host for the long-running game show should be. But at the end of the day, there’s luckily no personal war between Jennings and Mayim Bialik. In fact, the sitcom actress has joked before that she preferred Jennings as host with respect to everyone’s opinions. When hearing about the news of Bialik no longer on the daytime show, the 74-time winning contestant expressed he enjoyed his time working with his former co-host and is looking forward to his new hosting duties.
Austin Rogers appears to be happy seeing Ken Jennings as Jeopardy!’s new host and Mayim Bialik still return for specials. When it comes to examining which host gives better ratings for the show, there was previously a draw with there being zero difference between the two. You’ll have people who prefer one over the other, those who love both, and those who don’t like either. In the end, I’ll be curious to see how Jennings will fare as solo host. You can watch Jeopardy! in what remains of the 2023 TV schedule by checking your local listings.
