Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik will host the syndicated version of Jeopardy! for the rest of 2021, Sony Pictures Television announced Thursday.
The two will take the reins while the search for a new, permanent host to take over for the late Alex Trebek continues in the wake of Mike Richards‘ controversial exit.
Bialik, who has been named the host of Jeopardy! primetime specials and spin-offs, will host episodes airing from September 20 through November 5. After that, the Big Bang Theory star will split hosting duties with and Jeopardy! champ-turned-producer Jennings as their schedules allow.
Richards was named the new, permanent host of the syndicated version of Jeopardy! on August 11. After filming just a week’s worth of shows, he stepped down from the position on August 20 and, as of August 31, is no longer an executive producer for Jeopardy! or Wheel of Fortune.
Because Jeopardy! is filmed in advance, episodes featuring Richards aired this week, beginning on September 13. Richards’ final episode as host will be this Friday, September 17.
Richards came under fire after controversial remarks that he made on The Randumb Show, a podcast he hosted from 2013 to 2014, resurfaced. These since-deleted episodes included disparaging comments about women, for which Richards has apologized.
This also brought to light a 2010 lawsuit in which a former model on The Price Is Right, during Richards’ tenure on that program, alleged that her contract was not renewed after she gave birth.
Of the discrimination case, which was settled out of court without any admission of wrongdoing, Richards said the allegations “don’t reflect the reality of who I am.”
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