The search for a permanent new Jeopardy! host is over. And apparently it didn’t find one replacement for Alex Trebek. Instead, it found two.

Via a press release, Sony Pictures Television announced today that Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards will become “the full-time host of Jeopardy!’s long-running daily syndicated program” starting when the series returns for its 38th season in the fall. Richards has extensive on air game show experience; he previously hosted series like Beauty and the Geek and The Pyramid. In recent years, he’s mostly moved behind the camera, becoming a producer on game shows like The Price Is Right and the new iteration of Let’s Make a Deal. He joined Jeopardy! as a producer in 2020, and he served as one of the show’s guest hosts after the passing of Alex Trebek last fall.

Sony also announced that The Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik will join the show as “the host of Jeopardy!’s primetime and spinoff series, including the upcoming all-new Jeopardy! National College Championship set to air on ABC next year.” Bialik was also one of the show’s guests hosts during the past few months, and earned good reviews for her performance.

Here was Richards’ comment on the announcement:

I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to host the syndicated version of Jeopardy! Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined being chosen to step into a role of this magnitude. I am incredibly humbled to step behind the lectern and will work tirelessly to make sure our brilliant contestants shine in each and every episode.

And here was Bialik’s statement:

I couldn’t be more thrilled to join the Jeopardy! family. What started out with my 15-year-old repeating a rumor from Instagram that I should guest host the show has turned into one of the most exciting and surreal opportunities of my life! I’m so grateful and excited to continue to work with Mike Richards, and I’m just over the moon to join forces with him and Sony.

Ken Jennings, the popular Jeopardy! contestant and the first guest host after Trebek’s death, will remain a consulting producer on the series. Other guest hosts during the last season of Jeopardy! included Katie Couric, Aaron Rodgers, Dr. Oz, Joe Buck, Anderson Cooper, and LeVar Burton.

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