A Jeopardy! Decision: 'There Is White Smoke Over Culver City'

Mayim Bialik, Ken Jennings named official 'Jeopardy!' hosts
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 28, 2022 6:21 AM CDT
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In this combination of images shows Ken Jennings, left, as he appears at the 2020 ABC Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 8, 2020, and actress Mayim Bialik as she appears at the 23rd annual Critics' Choice Awards in Santa Monica, Calif., Jan. 11, 2018.   (AP Photos, File)

Jeopardy! has finally landed on who will permanently helm the show, and the decision won't come as a big shock. "It’s official! There is white smoke over Culver City," tweeted Ken Jennings in sharing the announcement that he and fellow temporary co-host Mayim Bialik are staying put. "I write today with the exciting news that we have closed and signed deals" with Bialik and Jennings, executive producer Michael Davies posted to the show's website Wednesday, reports CNN. "In Mayim and Ken, we have two outstanding hosts at the beginning of their Jeopardy! hosting careers who connect with their own unique fanbases, new fans, and the traditional Jeopardy! viewer."

Davies goes on to trumpet just how much fans apparently like the duo. "The show is considerably up in viewership year over year, with more than 27M viewers tuning in each week this season," he writes. "When you consider that almost every other show in broadcast television and syndication is declining, this has been a quite remarkable season: we’re the most-watched entertainment show on all of television. Yes, all of television." Variety notes "the dual-host solution speaks to ambitions behind the venerable game show"—namely, more versions. (Longtime host Alex Trebek died in November 2020.)

The two will host in chunks, with Jennings kicking off the season in September and Bialik, who is also currently appearing in Call Me Kat on Fox taking over in January. She'll host Celebrity Jeopardy!, and he'll handle the Second Chance competition and Tournament of Champions. (Read more Jeopardy stories.)

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