A weasel? Sony knew exactly what they were doing. I 10000% guarantee you Mike Richards left Fremantle knowing he would be the next Jeopardy host.
Did he know it would happen so soon? No one did. But Sony was preparing for Alex to pass and stealing him from Fremantle was the first step. Sony used the "guest hosting" route to introduce him to the world as many have not seen him before. Was it a smart idea? No. Did they expect Lavar Burton to act like a baby when he was not included in the list so now it makes Mike look bad? No.
But I can assure you that Mike was picked for this job the moment he was poached by Sony.
Though I am very much opposed to Richards being named host, I think that you hit upon the biggest objection that I had: namely, that even though Richards may very well have been singled out from the get-go, this whole bull**** charade was allowed to go on for a long time. Such phoniness and lack of honesty are no doubt parts of show business, but that doesn't make me hate what happened any less.
I certainly find some of the explanations given by Sony and Richards' zealots supporters to be suspect, if not outright laughable. If this decision was solely about which host attracted the most viewers, then Ken Jennings should have been picked. Yes, Richards' shows scored the second highest ratings, but any one with a modicum of knowledge regarding TV viewing habits realizes that ratings would continuously dwindle as the a new host was introduced every week or every other week (which was, indeed, the general pattern as to what happened).
In its press release, Sony praised Richards for being at ease behind the podium. Those who believe this to be the case are entitled to their opinions, but much of the feedback I've read on social media echoed my own sentiments, which was that David Faber did an extraordinary job and most resembled Alex Trebek. (And for those who say that Faber wasn't available, that just isn't the case, since he recently stated that he would take the job if offered.) And don't even get me started as to just how incredibly insulting and disrespectful it was to have all these leaks come out the week Faber was hosting and how equally insulting it was to have this official announcement come out the week Joe Buck is at the helm.
Regarding the breadcrumbs that are being given to Mayim Bialik, I echo comments made by others that suspect this was a move made by Sony to quell some of the backlash over allegations of past misconduct Richards has faced regarding his treatment of women. The spin that she's somehow a true co-host may also be an attempt to quell the "woke" left (who are upset over LeVar Burton not getting the gig) and those who suspect that Richards was gaming the system all along in a Dick Cheney sort of way.
As to Richards himself, I actually do think that he is a competent game show host, which is in sharp contrast to Drew Carey. But my personal opinion is that he comes across as overly slick and phony, and also comes across as lacking the intellectual gravitas necessary for hosting Jeopardy! (And I also agree with others who suspect he did what he could to game to hosting selection process.) One analogy I can think of regarding the change in hosts from Alex Trebek to Mike Richards would be to see Pat Summerall (the late, legendary sportscaster) get replaced by Bill Clinton. Obviously, Summerall and Clinton were in very different professions, but--for the sake of the point I'm trying to make--try to picture them both as game show hosts. Pat Summerall was somebody universally beloved, never let his ego get in the way of his job, and was perceived as having total credibility. Though Bill Clinton was and is adored by many, a great many others viewed him as totally self-serving and untrustworthy. (And should somebody criticize me for injecting politics into the discussion, I do apologize. However, you might want to know that I despise Donald Trump even more than Bill Clinton.)
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