Whomever Alex Trebek’s permanent Jeopardy! replacement will be, he or she won’t take over until at least Fall 2022.
Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings, who have been splitting host duties at the beloved quiz show since September, will now continue to do so through the end of its current 38th season. Per Deadline, Season 38 will conclude on July 29, 2022.
“We are delighted to let you know our excellent and experienced team in front of and behind the camera will continue into 2022: @missmayim and @kenjennings will share hosting duties through the end of #Jeopardy! Season 38, and Michael Davies will remain as executive producer,” Jeopardy! shared in a tweet on Wednesday.
The search for Trebek’s permanent successor has been on since he passed away of pancreatic cancer in November 2020. After several guest hosts finished their stints behind the podium — Bialik and Jennings among them — former Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards was named Trebek’s full-time replacement. He lost the gig days later, though, after misogynistic, racist and anti-Semitic jokes he’d told on a podcast in the mid-2010s resurfaced online. Richards was retained as an EP on the show at first, then was ultimately fired from that position in late August.
Bialik is also set to host Jeopardy!‘s next primetime event, the National College Championship. Debuting Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 8/7c on ABC — with episodes airing each Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, concluding on Tuesday, Feb. 22 — the nine-night event will feature 36 students from 36 colleges and universities going head-to-head in the ultimate battle of wits.
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