NEW YORK — “Jeopardy!” says champion contestant Ken Jennings will be the first interim guest for the late Alex Trebek, and the show will try other guest hosts before naming a permanent replacement.
Jennings begins taping next week and his first episodes will air on the week of Jan. 11.
He's well-known to fans of the game show for his 74-game winning streak and victory in last year's prime-time ‘Greatest of All Time’ competition.
Jennings joined the program at the start of the current season as a consulting producer.
“Alex believed in the importance of Jeopardy! and always said that he wanted the show to go on after him,” said Richards. “We will honor Alex’s legacy by continuing to produce the game he loved with smart contestants and challenging clues. By bringing in familiar guest hosts for the foreseeable future, our goal is to create a sense of community and continuity for our viewers.”
Originally, Jeopardy! said it would have new episodes taped before Trebek's death through December 25. The game show said that during the weeks of Dec. 21 and 28, Jeopardy! will air a top 10 of Trebek's past episodes. The final episode filmed before Trebek's death will air January 8.
"There will only ever be one Alex Trebek, but I'm honored to be helping Jeopardy! out with this in January," Jennings tweeted.
Trebek died two weeks ago after being diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
