HomeNews'Jeopardy!' Didn't Respect Alex Trebek's Wishes with Host Choice—Former Champ

‘Jeopardy!’ Didn’t Respect Alex Trebek’s Wishes with Host Choice—Former Champ

Former Jeopardy! champ Arthur Chu has criticized the present’s producers for not being “respectful” of Alex Trebek’s needs in his selection of successor.

Trebek, who had hosted the enduring quiz present from 1984 till 2020, handed away in November following a battle with pancreatic most cancers.

From January till August, viewers then watched as a revolving door of movie star visitor hosts stepped in to check out for the coveted function, with the present’s then-executive producer, Mike Richards, subsequently touchdown the job.

As has been properly documented, what adopted was an unprecedented sequence of occasions for the present, with Richards dropping his roles as each host and govt producer inside days, amid backlash over feedback he made on a now-defunct podcast.

And with Mayim Bialik and all-time Jeopardy! champ Ken Jennings now splitting internet hosting duties for the rest of 2021, Chu has informed Newsweek that whereas he has no robust private preferences on who will get the job, Trebek’s obvious selection of inheritor to the lectern appears to have been missed.

He mentioned: “I used to be rooting for Ken Jennings as host out of solidarity as a fellow former contestant, and since it actually looks like he was Alex Trebek’s selection for a successor, therefore Trebek giving him his cufflinks and having him narrate his audiobook.

“However in the end most of what anybody would wish to know to have an knowledgeable opinion is stuff that we’ll by no means discover out about with out somebody leaking it from behind the scenes.

“I haven’t got robust opinions on it apart from that I believe there’s some clear indicators Alex Trebek’s most popular successor was Ken Jennings and it will have been extra respectful to abide by his needs,” he added.

Chu additionally admitted that he wasn’t notably enthusiastic in regards to the choice of Name Me Kat star Bialik to quickly helm the present, citing her previous feedback about vaccines, amongst different points.

The obvious want of late “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek (L) to have Ken Jennings (R) substitute him as presenter of the present has not been revered by producers, former champ Arthur Chu has informed Newsweek.
Kris Connor/Getty Photographs;/Gary Gershoff/Getty Photographs

“I discover lots of the feedback Bialik has made about essential points previously to be unlucky and I strongly disagree together with her previous expressed opinions on points like #MeToo and vaccinations.

“That mentioned, whereas she hasn’t given the apology I want she would have upon being named to this place, she hasn’t continued to push any of those concepts as host, and generally you must reluctantly settle for that every one the well-known individuals you take pleasure in seeing onscreen have one thing problematic from their previous.”

Nonetheless, mentioned comic and actor Chu, the present has now settled right into a tempo that’s going “in addition to could be anticipated,” regardless of all the upheavals.

“The irony is that there actually is not that a lot a number can do onscreen to instantly offend anybody on Jeopardy! so long as the editors are doing their jobs—any issues that there might have been will not actually be seen to us until leaked from behind the scenes after the actual fact,” he famous.

Nevertheless, it can’t be denied that the Richards debacle has considerably tarnished the legacy of the present, mentioned Chu, who hit an 11-day win streak on the present in 2014.

“There is no approach it could not,” he defined, “being the most important behind-the-scenes scandal I believe anybody can bear in mind about Jeopardy! in its historical past, though I believe it is nonetheless potential for individuals to maneuver on; recollections are shorter in present enterprise than many understand.”

Former "Jeopardy!" host Mike Richards
Mike Richards accepts the award for excellent sport present for “The Worth is Proper” on the 2016 Daytime Emmy Awards at Westin Bonaventure Lodge on Might 1, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Richards held the job of everlasting “Jeopardy!” host for a matter of days earlier than stepping down.
Joe Scarnici/WireImage

However to ensure that the viewers to maneuver on, Chu informed Newsweek that producers should choose and announce a brand new everlasting host “as quickly as potential—additional uncertainty can solely hurt the present.”

In the end, whoever is chosen to succeed beloved presenter Trebek ought to possess the qualities not dissimilar to the person who stood on the lectern for many years.

Itemizing these attributes, Chu mentioned: “Primarily a gradual hand, a willingness to stay to the background and ‘let the contestants be the celebrities,’ as Alex Trebek put it, and a capability for being relatable, human and reassuring with out crossing the road to taking the highlight themselves.

“It isn’t straightforward and it usually appears to go in opposition to the instincts of many actors and performers, which is why actually nice hosts are uncommon.”

why the syndicated quiz present has been such a permanent success over time, earlier than the headlines, Chu mentioned it had captivated viewers “by being a constant, reassuring presence in individuals’s lives, being prepared to stay to a formulation that labored and that did not make individuals really feel manipulated or pandered to.

“The temptation to ‘promote out’ and to go for reasonable scores grabs is at all times there in TV, and Jeopardy! was fortunate sufficient for a very long time to have individuals in cost who constantly resisted it.”

Alex Trebek and Ken Jennings
“Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek poses contestant Ken Jennings after his earnings from his document breaking streak on the gameshow surpassed $1 million July 14, 2004 in Culver Metropolis, California. Jennings holds the document of the longest win streak on the present, with 74 consecutive victories.
Jeopardy Productions through Getty Photographs
RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular

Recent Comments