Mike Richards is out as 'Jeopardy!' host – Aaron Rodgers says he's (mostly) still available
Now that Mike Richardshas stepped down as the host of Jeopardy! many fans are wondering who Alex Trebek's permanent replacement will actually be. Well, it sounds like Aaron Rodgers is still interested in the job.
Rodgers was asked on Thursday (amid Richards chaos) if he was offered the gig, would he have taken it.
"Yeah, I definitely would have. If they would have figured out a way to make it work with my schedule, yeah, for sure," he told Adam Schein on the SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio show.
Rodgers was one of the many rotating guest hosts this past season and clicked with many viewers. But last year's NFL MVP happens to have another job as the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. Still, the athlete reiterated he'd take the job if the show can make it work.
"That was so much fun. That was just so much fun. I spent a lot of time studying and getting ready for it. I definitely wanted it, you know, was interested in finding a way to make it work with my schedule and with their schedule and filming. But I had such a blast," he told Schein. "I have zero regrets with how it all went. It was such a special environment. It was surreal to be on that stage … When you're just a super Jeopardy! fan like I am, it's just so special to be on that stage, be in that environment where you know that you're walking in the footsteps of legends."
Although Richards will no longer host the syndicated show, he'll stay on as executive producer. The longtime Price is Right EP was in charge of finding Trebek's replacement and it's unclear if he'll have an active role in the new search. While he'll appear as host in the first episodes of Season 38, Sony Pictures Television said it will be bringing back guest hosts to continue production for the new season.
Ken Jennings, who won a record 74 consecutive games more than a decade ago and is now a Jeopardy! producer, was the early favorite to succeed Trebek. (He was called out for past "insensitive" tweets of his own.) Jennings told the New York Times he had no hard feelings about being passed up for the job.
"I knew Jeopardy! was in a spot this year, and I mostly wanted them to have a smooth transition," he explained. "I was not going to lobby for that job in the media, ever. I was not going to plant stories about what a promising young candidate I was. I wasn’t interested in doing any of that. I am a company man."
It's unclear who will be in Jeopardy!'s guest-hosting lineup, but many fans are hoping CNN's Laura Coates makes the cut. The legal analyst was named by Trebek in 2018 as someone who could be a good fit as a host.
