Jeopardy! Post-Alex Discussion Post

[vnisanian2001]

I feel that I perhaps should leave my personal political beliefs out of this discussion because they will only spark an argument which we see too much of on social media these days.

P.S. To anyone who says Mayim should replace Mike, she is not without controversy, either.

[imhomerjay]

Do we know with absolute certainty that they were taped? I believe yesterday was the first scheduled taping day with Mike, but he and Sony already knew what was coming by that point.

I don't see anything in their rules that says they are bound to air any particular episode. But for the sake of goodwill and legal thoroughness, it wouldn't surprise me if they cut a deal with any contestants who were on the five shows that were theoretically taped with Mike as the permanent host. Maybe they get to keep whatever they won on the unaired shows, plus play again on a newly taped show and keep those winnings as well? Maybe a hypothetical champion on a Mike show who doesn't win on the retaped show gets an additional bonus of some sort? It would be messy, but there's no way they can debut their new season with a host they've already acknowledged is irredeemably tarnished.

Even if they have a replacement in mind already, there will have to be contract negotiations. They have no choice but to resume taping very soon. The new season starts airing only 3 weeks from Monday.

Indeed, they could do a lot of things by rules, but they’re in an especially tricky season with Matt’s run. Either way, a change in outcome if they discard those episodes? That’s one more unforced error they can ill afford. Air the shows, suck it up and more on. That’s the least bad choice amid a thicket of bad options.

[therealcu2010]

Mayim also isn't without baggage either...probably also not an ideal choice to replace Alex.

[kishy214]

Why don’t they just give Mayim both gigs?  I mean, she’s already a host.  Don’t see why they need to go back to searching.

TMZ reported Bialik was offered the whole gig -- she declined because they asked her to commit to the show full-time, instead of continuing to act on Call Me Kat. The executives have been clear that, despite the limited taping schedule of the show (I believe they run 46 weeks of first-run programs per year, so 46 taping days), they are looking for a host who will take J! as their primary job.

[kishy214]

Also, for all those wondering about the week of episodes Richards already taped, as well as his continuing employment as Exec. Producer, this reporting

In addition, Sony released the following statement which confirmed that Richards will continue on as the show’s executive producer, if not as Alex Trebek’s successor: “We support Mike’s decision to step down as host. We were surprised this week to learn of Mike’s 2013/2014 podcast and the offensive language he used in the past. We have spoken with him about our concerns and our expectations moving forward. Mike has been with us for the last two years and has led the Jeopardy! team through the most challenging time the show has ever experienced. It is our hope that as EP he will continue to do so with professionalism and respect.”

Sony also confirmed the episodes Richards shot on Thursday will still air during the upcoming season as scheduled, followed by a rotation of guest hosts until a new permanent host is selected.

[Reloaden]

David Faber is still my top choice.

[pricefan18]

She has another show titled Call Me Kate that’s she’s currently contracted to do.

It's Call Me Kat actually.

[GameShowFan1987]

As someone who admittedly doesn't watch Jeopardy on any sort of regular basis, I'm willing to see how Mike does as the new permanent host. Would he have been my choice? No, but it does make sense. He has prior game show hosting experience, he's been a successful executive producer of game shows, and he clearly has a passion for them. It's pretty clear to me that he's wanted to host his own show for quite some time considering he auditioned for Price back in 2007 and had a short stint with "The Pyramid" in 2012. Now he's got one and I wish him well with it. To the naysayers, I realize Mike left a bad taste in people's mouths, mine included, when he first became EP of Price because he started making changes and there was fear that the show would fail because of it. It didn't. Maybe things were a bit rocky at first but they smoothed out. Season 50 is starting in just a few weeks and, pandemic conditions aside, it's still the same show and it's still strong and that's due in no small part to Mike. The correct response: What is "Good luck, Mike."?

My toes don't taste that great.

[PatrickRox80]

Obviously a lot to digest here. If anybody told me last year that this would be the direction Jeopardy! would take after Alex, I’d have laughed. Today, this just feels like a cruel joke that the show itself would stoop so low. And to top that off, we get another non-apology from Mike himself. It seems he never grew up.

Until Sony made the decision to let his episodes air, I thought about the bullet Mark Burnett avoided with the Our Little Genius fiasco. While the episodes still haven’t aired, the contestants got their winnings. However, Mike has already tarnished the name so no sense in not letting his shows air. Here’s hoping Sony does some extreme vetting with who they have guest hosting this season.

What is up though with shafting Ken and Buzzy at the studio? Mike is hardly a man of integrity, so to say he didn’t feel comfortable with them on the set just shows what a coward he is.

[Axl]

Indeed, they could do a lot of things by rules, but they’re in an especially tricky season with Matt’s run. Either way, a change in outcome if they discard those episodes? That’s one more unforced error they can ill afford. Air the shows, suck it up and more on. That’s the least bad choice amid a thicket of bad options.

Fair point. I hadn't considered that a redo of those five episodes would also mean redoing the middle of the third-best run in the show's history. Not a good option either. What an embarrassing start to the season.

What is up though with shafting Ken and Buzzy at the studio? Mike is hardly a man of integrity, so to say he didn’t feel comfortable with them on the set just shows what a coward he is.

You know what they say about absolute power. TV history is littered with hosts who were also executive producers behaving badly.

[bigblue999]

Dobkowitz’s take:

[bigblue999]

Sorry for the double post but here’s Rich Fields’ take as well.

[jhc2010]

I was able to catch some episodes of every guest host.

Hosts I enjoyed:
Ken Jennings
Katie Couric
Aaron Rodgers
Anderson Cooper
Buzzy Cohen
Mayim Bialik
Savannah Guthrie
Robin Roberts
Joe Buck

Hosts I thought didn’t do well at all:
Bill Whitaker (I really enjoy him on 60 minutes)
Levar Burton

Ken, Buzzy, and Anderson were my top 3.

[pricefan18]

Sorry for the double post but here’s Rich Fields’ take as well.

Hmm......interesting accusation regarding Drew here.......

[JayC]

Granted it's TMZ reporting, but the word is that the week of episodes with Mike hosting will air and there will likely be a disclaimer before each episode to explain why he is no longer hosting. https://www.tmz.com/2021/08/20/jeopardy-will-air-mike-richards-episodes-despite-departure/