When Alex Trebek lost his battle with pancreatic cancer, he left big shoes to fill. He hosted over 8,200 episodes of the popular game show “Jeopardy!” He filmed his final episodes on October 29, 2020. He died on November 11, and his final episodes aired the first week of January.

After his passing, Executive Producer Mike Richards said, “This is an enormous loss for the ‘Jeopardy!’ staff, crew and all of Alex’s millions of fans. He was a legend of the industry that we were all lucky to watch night after night for 37 years. Working beside him for the past year and a half as he heroically continued to host Jeopardy! was an incredible honor. His belief in the importance of the show and his willingness to push himself to perform at the highest level was the most inspiring demonstration of courage I have ever seen. His constant desire to learn, his kindness, and his professionalism will be with all of us forever.”

After a months long search for a replacement host via candidates guest hosting the show, Sony has finally announced who the replacement host will be. It’s not one host but two.

Mike Richards, yes, the same Mike Richards who has been working as an Executive Producer on “Jeopardy!”, will now be the permanent host of the syndicated show. Meanwhile, “Big Bang Theory” actress Mayim Bialik will host specials and spin-offs of the show such as the “Jeopardy! National College Championship.”

In a statement, Sony Pictures Chairman Ravi Ahuja said, “We are thrilled to begin the next chapter of America’s Favorite Quiz Show with Mike hosting our daily show and Mayim hosting new versions of ‘Jeopardy!’ We took this decision incredibly seriously. A tremendous amount of work and deliberation has gone into it, perhaps more than has ever gone into the selection of hosts for a show – deservedly so because it’s Jeopardy! and we are following the incomparable Alex Trebek. A senior group of Sony Pictures Television executives pored over footage from every episode, reviewed research from multiple panels and focus groups, and got valuable input from our key partners and Jeopardy! viewers.”

Do you think Sony made the right decision about which replacement hosts to choose for “Jeopardy!”? Who do you think should be the permanent host of “Jeopardy!”?