Harry Friedman Retiring

[bigblue999]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/jeopardy-wheel-producer-harry-friedman-stepping-down-25-years-1228533

Could this also pave the way for Mike Richards to take over both Jeopardy & Wheel?

[Trevor Tuominen]

I hope to see great things from Wheel and Jeopardy if Mike becomes showrunner. Especially Wheel.

[gamesurf]

I hope to see great things from Wheel and Jeopardy if Mike becomes showrunner. Especially Wheel.

Seconded. Wheel has been stale for a while, and a lot of the most recent gimmicks are just silly. The wheel practically has more colored cardboard on it than dollar values. For the most part, Mike's figured out how to keep Price fresh without distracting from normal gameplay, so I think he'd be a great fit for Wheel.

Jeopardy, OTOH, is absolutely perfect the way it is and I'd hope the new EP recognizes that. That show could last forever.

[blozier2006]

Jeopardy, OTOH, is absolutely perfect the way it is and I'd hope the new EP recognizes that. That show could last forever.

Or at least as long as Alex Trebek's health holds out. You'd have to be very careful when getting a new emcee, or that could potentially kill it.

[tpir04]

Is it possible that this is why Mike stepped down in the first place?

[gamesurf]

Or at least as long as Alex Trebek's health holds out. You'd have to be very careful when getting a new emcee, or that could potentially kill it.

I think it would take a really poor fit to risk killing the show. Like, "Terry Crews doing Millionaire" poor.

While Alex definitely has blessed the show by staying for such a long time, I don't think the host matters as much on Jeopardy! as it does on other shows. Alex is a legend, no doubt, and his presence has helped the show stay solid and consistent throughout the decades, but people who tune into Jeopardy aren't watching for Alex. They're tuning in for the game and for the trivia.

As long as they get somebody that comes across as credible and pleasant enough to listen to for 61 clues an episode, I think the show will be just fine.

[JayC]

Could this also pave the way for Mike Richards to take over both Jeopardy & Wheel?

That's what I was thinking when I first saw this news. With Mike heading over to Sony and Harry retiring after this coming season it does seem to line up.

[Reloaden]

Mike did a good job handling The Price is Right over the last few years.


Wheel has been stale forever i would love to see Pat and Vanna leave. Pat has been phoning it in forever hes just looks bored and he kills the vibe of the show. and Vanna is Vanna.

Jeopardy has been exciting. I have a feeling Alex is going to retire when his contract is over. I wouldn't mind seeing Dan Patrick taking over i liked him on Sports Jeopardy.

[jude_este]

Could this also pave the way for Mike Richards to take over both Jeopardy & Wheel?

The Sony deal from earlier this summer stated that Mike would develop and produce his own shows on a variety of platforms, and I'm expecting Mike to do that not replacing Harry on Jeopardy & Wheel.

[tpir04]

Wheel has been stale forever i would love to see Pat and Vanna leave. Pat has been phoning it in forever hes just looks bored and he kills the vibe of the show. and Vanna is Vanna.

I honestly don't want to see either of them leave. Pat and Vanna still have that chemistry that works, especially in their end-of-show chats. However, I can't make a completely informed decision because I haven't seen much of Wheel as of late. I'll wait until September 9, when the new season starts.

As far as Wheel being stale, well, there's only so much you can do with Hangman.

[Roadgeek Adam]

Pat & Vanna are definitely not the problem with the show. Unlike Jeopardy, Wheel is a much more concise, calm, robotic game. Jeopardy is a high-intensity trivia contest. It is a hard show to go stale.

Wheel on the other hand needs freshening up every few years. However, when the puzzle writing gets stale and the prize payouts continue to be stagnate, it can't help but go very stale. It is an understandable headache. I don't know what the perfect answer is.

[Flerbert419]

The Sony deal from earlier this summer stated that Mike would develop and produce his own shows on a variety of platforms, and I'm expecting Mike to do that not replacing Harry on Jeopardy & Wheel.

I'm not quite sure what to make of this comment - here's what I posted about the situation over at Buy A Vowel a few hours earlier:

The Sony deal called for him to develop and produce his own shows on a variety of platforms, so I would expect him to do that going forward instead.

While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it would be great if you came up with your own ideas and opinions in the future.

[JayC]

Even if he was brought over to Sony for the purpose of developing new content, he could still end up replacing Harry as EP of Jeopardy and Wheel if him and Sony so choose. Things can change in what you end up doing just like in any other workplace.

[tpir04]

Perhaps they are bringing him to Sony to develop new shows, or at least pilots and runthroughs, with the intention of eventually making him EP of Wheel. If anything, it would be the other way around, but still, it's a possibility.

[jude_este]

The thread may be almost a month old, but Deadline is reporting that Mike Richards is set to replace Harry Friedman on Jeopardy! and Wheel Of Fortune next year.
https://deadline.com/2019/08/mike-richards-executive-produce-jeopardy-wheel-of-fortune-harry-friedman-exit-next-year-1202707378/