Mike Richards steps down as Jeopardy host search for an Alex Trebek successor resumes

Mike Richards stepped down Friday as host of “Jeopardy!" following reports of a number of inappropriate comments he made on a podcast several years ago, bringing more turmoil to the iconic TV game show.

Richards, the executive producer of the quiz classic, announced the change in a memo shared by the show’s production company, Sony Pictures Television. He will remain in his production role.

As a result, the program will continue to search for a permanent host to replace Alex Trebek, who died in November. But the ongoing controversies surrounding the process of finding a successor has tarnished a broadcasting institution beloved by several generations of viewers.

“It pains me that these past incidents and comments have cast such a shadow on Jeopardy! as we look to start a new chapter,” Richards said in the memo.

“As I mentioned last week, I was deeply honored to be asked to host the syndicated show and was thrilled by the opportunity to expand my role. However, over the last several days it has become clear that moving forward as host would be too much of a distraction for our fans and not the right move for the show. As such, I will be stepping down as host effective immediately. As a result, we will be canceling production today.”

Television

How did the choice of ‘Jeopardy!’ host become so controversial? Here’s what went wrong

Handing off of a TV institution isn’t easy, but the search for Alex Trebek’s successor inspired many fans. We explain why it all went awry.

Sony Pictures Television will resume its search for a permanent host for the daily syndicated edition of the program. Actor Mayim Bialik was hired to host a series of prime time “Jeopardy!" specials and spinoffs, and is likely now a serious contender for the full-time job.

The program will go back to using guest hosts for the time being, as production on the 2021-22 season has already begun.

Richards apologized for “the unwanted negative attention that has come to ‘Jeopardy!’ over the last few weeks and for the confusion and delays this is now causing. I know I have a lot of work to do to regain your trust and confidence.”

In a statement, Sony stated its support for Richards in the executive producer role. But it remains to be seen if the media company can withstand the tsunami of bad publicity Richards has brought upon the program and keep him in charge.

“Mike has been with us for the last two years and has led the ‘Jeopardy!’ team through the most challenging time the show has ever experienced,” the company said in a statement. “It is our hope that as [executive producer] he will continue to do so with professionalism and respect.”

Sony also said it supported Richards’ decision to step down and was “surprised” to learn of the host’s podcast where he used offensive language.

“We have spoken with him about our concerns and our expectations moving forward,” the company said.

The imbroglio raises further questions over how rigorously the company vetted Richards, who has spent most of his career behind the scenes as a game show producer and did not have a high public profile before his “Jeopardy!” fill-in stint earlier this year.

According to a report in the Ringer, Richards made comments in 2013 and 2014 disparaging Jews, little people and women in a podcast, “The Randumb Show,” which he co-hosted.

The story detailing numerous insensitive comments on the podcast drew an immediate rebuke from the Anti-Defamation League, which called for an investigation.

He had been able to skate past resurfaced reports on discrimination lawsuits filed by women who worked on the Fremantle-produced “The Price Is Right,” where he was executive producer from 2008 to 2018. The program airs on CBS.

Richards was given the “Jeopardy!” job nine days ago after overseeing a search with many better known guest hosts. Richards also did a stint, leading to talk among insiders on the program â€" and highly critical fans â€" that he was positioning himself for the full-time role.

Television

Appreciation: The irreplaceable Alex Trebek made ‘Jeopardy!’ a sane place in a mad world

In his decades on “Jeopardy!” Alex Trebek, who died Sunday from pancreatic cancer, became more than a TV host: He was, in his way, a leader.

With Richards stepping away, the jockeying among potential Trebek replacements will begin anew. Actor LeVar Burton, who has actively lobbied for the job, started the day with an understated tweet.

Happy Friday, y’all!

â€" LeVar Burton (@levarburton) August 20, 2021

Burton is a fan favorite for the job. He was given a week-long tryout, which earned mixed reviews on social media.

Other guest hosts included “Jeopardy!” champion Ken Jennings, “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker, CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and veteran TV journalist Katie Couric.

Just minutes after the Richards news was out, agents were on the phone with Sony executives to push more possible candidates. The show will now have to return to guest hosts until it can settle on a permanent host.

Bialik would be a logical solution, but she is committed to a Fox sitcom, “Call Me Kat,” which has been renewed for a second season.

Overall, the process of replacing Trebek has become a textbook on how not to handle a popular long-running TV franchise.

Sony’s stumbles come despite longstanding efforts to craft a seamless transition plan for the studio’s biggest TV franchise long before Trebek became ill.

According to former Sony executives who were not authorized to comment, previous executive producer Harry Friedman had carefully guarded the franchise to protect it from any whiff of impropriety. Friedman had contingency plans with the expectation that Trebek would retire.

During Friedman’s tenure, a list of potential hosts, including Cooper and Jennings, was created, according to an executive privy to the planning process.

Sony Pictures Television long recognized a switch at “Jeopardy!” would be a momentous move. As part of its planning efforts, the studio launched “Jeopardy Sports” on its then-streaming service, Crackle, to expand the franchise to younger viewers and to test the appeal of popular sportscaster Dan Patrick with audiences.

But Friedman retired in May 2020 after 21 years. Richards then stepped in to replace him, and he was running the Emmy-winning show when Trebek’s health took a turn for the worse last fall.

Trebek, who died of pancreatic cancer, persevered throughout last fall, completing all the episodes that Sony shot to fill the month of December before his death.

At that point, Richards had been the top producer for just six months. He quickly threw his hat in the ring.

The new host selection team was led by Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman Tony Vinciquerra â€" who has been in the top job since 2017 â€" and his team at Sony Pictures Television, including senior executives Ravi Ahuja, Keith Le Goy, Jeff Frost and Jason Clodfelter.

The selection becomes a major blemish on Vinciquerra’s tenure overseeing the Culver City studio.

Studio executives saw the rotation of guest hosts as a huge positive: It gave viewers time to grieve the passing of Trebek, and allowed audiences to become accustomed to a new face as audiences began to evaluate and root for their favorite guest host.

Sony executives have said the revolving host format helped boost ratings and it also provided a platform to raise money for various charities, which engendered good will among the “Jeopardy!” faithful.

Top Sony executive’s decision to go with Richards came after intense lobbying by various guest host candidates, including Rodgers. In some quarters, the choice of Richards might have been seen as a “safe” choice â€" a clean-cut, affable white man to appeal to the largely older crowd that tunes in nightly for “Jeopardy!”

Richards also likely cost considerably less than a well-known host, who might have commanded an annual salary above $10 million.

But the choice failed to read the cultural moment. Observers questioned the wisdom of pressing forward with Richards’ selection given Hollywood’s heightened awareness of its historic lack of diversity in the most prominent roles, and after a flap ensued over Richards’ alleged mistreatment of models on “The Price is Right.”

One person familiar with the matter called Sony’s decision-making “mind-boggling.”

”Even before the damaging podcast comments were unearthed by The Ringer, the selection of Richards smacked of cronyism,” the person said. “Here you had the guy helping manage the search for Trebek’s replacement also being a candidate himself.”

It was clear to casual viewers that Richards, as the show’s executive producer, appeared to have the inside track, akin to Dick Cheney leading the search to find a vice president for George W. Bush in 2000.

Some critics noted that Sony was likely not helped by the turnover in its management staff in recent years, losing such respected TV executives as Mike Hopkins, who is now leading Amazon’s entertainment division, and Chris Parnell, who left Sony TV for Apple last year.

Share this post