JEOPARDY!’s Ken Jennings has BLUSHED as a player shared an intimate story about him on Tuesday.
After just two games back, fans already want the host to fully replace Mayim Bialik.
Jeopardy!’s Ken Jennings blushed in the sweetest surprise as a player dedicated a story to him[/caption]
Viewers are convinced he’s a ‘better host’ than Mayim Bialik[/caption]
Ken, 48, has returned to Jeopardy! for his first week of shows since May.
Mayim, 46, was subbed out for the alum-turned-host in news that was tastefully tucked into the end credits last Friday.
She’s hosted the past eight weeks to mixed reviews, so fans of his are pretty excited.
He’s now poised to close out the season, with the permanent hosting slot still undecided and Season 38 ending on July 31st, 2022.
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New champ Matt Mierswa won tonight with $29,201 total.
But first, the New Jersey attorney opened up about how he, much like many fans, just admires Ken.
During the Q&A storytelling segment of the show, Ken noted Matt is a “longtime Jeopardy! fan.”
“That’s right Ken,” he began. “During your original run I was in high school.”
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‘THANK YOU SO MUCH’
The grey suit-clad presenter audibly laughed loudly at the mention of his own 74-game streak in 2004 under Alex Trebek.
“So the family was pretty busy but wanted to catch every episode,” Matt continued.
“I have vivid memories of missing the bus because me and my mom were trying to record something on VHS.”
Ken turned bright red and smiled as he looked down in surprise.
“So you’re also the youngest person that knows how to set a VCR,” the host quipped.
He added, “That’s very exciting, well thank you for watching, I appreciate that.”
Ken then took a pause and concluded, “And for making me feel old!”
All three players smiled seeming happy to have witnessed the wholesome moment – fans at home felt similarly, truly missing Ken while he was out.
‘HE WAS BORN FOR THIS!’
“Life is so much sweeter when Ken Jennings is host of Jeopardy,” one tweeted tonight.
“He is light years better than Mayim. It’s not even close. He does introductions better. Interviews. Improvisations. He definitely responds faster when someone answers something correctly.”
Another wrote: “I think Mayim would be fine with some work, but man, Ken was born for this!”
A third penned: “When Ken Jennings gently asks ‘More specifically?’ instead of flat out saying: ‘…No.’”
A fourth wrote: “Come on. There is no comparison. Please make Ken Jennings the permanent host of Jeopardy. Put us out of our misery.”
At one point tonight, Ken showed his bedside manner when another player, Catherine, missed a clue and he said, “No, sorry, you were halfway there.”
In comparison, fans have felt like during her hosting run Mayim was quite short with players.
BIG WEEK BACK
Fans have felt like after two games of smooth sailing and Trebek-teeming energy he is the better fit.
Last night’s game – Ken’s first back – was a simply momentous match as it led to a rare tie-breaker scenario.
William Chou – who lost to Matt tonight – won the tie-breaker yesterday.
He and another player had the exact same scores after Final Jeopardy and faced off in an extra-innings showdown that can go years without happening.
Ken and the late Alex were also quite close – a former champ told Newsweek that Ken was the late host’s choice for successor.
“It really seems like he was Alex Trebek’s choice, hence [the widow of] Trebek giving him his cufflinks and having him narrate his audiobook,” he said.
HOST LIKELY?
Ken and Mayim, 46, began filling in for the legendary Alex after his tragic 2020 passing and a fleet of Season 37 celebrity guest hosts, including now-disgraced Mike Richards.
The show’s ratings nearly doubled to 9.7 million viewers when Ken made his first appearance.
When Mayim took over her hosting duties the headcount dropped to 5.9 million viewers during a college championship and sadly, she hadn’t bested Ken’s ratings since.
From those telltale ratings to “cryptic hints,” fans have collected clues that the former champion will be chosen over the actress.
For one, he sent his fans into meltdown when he bowed out of the new season of The Chase.
Another was that Ken accepted a 2022 Daytime Emmy award in June alone without Mayim, who also wasn’t in its montage – and she has had her Fox sitcom renewed rendering her busier than him.
Fans have not been pleased with Mayim’s stage presence, slamming her for errors and mishaps quite regularly during her past eight weeks.
They have nit-picked her “slow” reaction time to players’ responses, frequent judge interventions for re-score errors, and stiff interactions with players during the Q&A storytelling portions.
It’s no easy job, but she also faced fan fury when a player’s signature was ruled too sloppy in FJ though she had seemingly written “Harriet Tubman” – making national news.
And last month – though not Mayim’s fault – there was ironically a typo in Final Jeopardy just days after the spelling snub which couldn’t have come at a worse time.
That said, viewers have warmed up to the star and would surely be fine with an ongoing co-host situation given the show is about the players not the host, as Alex once said.
Additionally, fans have found it refreshing to have a female host who is multi-talented on a game show that’s been so dominated by male champs up until recently.
This as Ken surprisingly tweeted in May: “I’m handing the keys back to the talented actor-producer-writer-director (!) Mayim Bialik for a few months,” adding, “We are lucky to have her! I’ll be back before the end of the season.”
Since then, he’d been laying low in Hawaii and at home in Seattle, Washington – though he’s said he’s already been tapped to tape more episodes for Season 39, another clue the job may be his.
One possibility that has been implied by execs is that the actress could simply host spinoffs soon, perhaps with Buzzy Cohen.
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If so, Ken would host the main show, with “multiple hosts for the franchise” altogether.
Jeopardy! airs on weeknights at 7 pm ET.
New champ Matt who won tonight’s game said he ‘never missed an episode of Ken Jennings’ run’ when the host was a contestant[/caption]
Fans see the late Alex Trebek in him, the two were quite close – and Ken blushed in appreciation at the reminder[/caption]
Mayim Bialik is now spending time with her boyfriend – no single host between them has been chosen[/caption]
