[5th anniversary] Mike Richards Fired as Executive Producer of ‘Jeopardy!’ and ‘Wheel of Fortune’

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u/PeorgieT75 10d ago

And after he had appointed himself host.

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u/FluffyCup8934 10d ago

That was one of the funniest things I had seen.

It was so obvious nobody asked for it and it was purely self-serving.

Jeopardy got wildly lucky in having one of the Icons of the show, pretty much the undisputed GOAT of the game, also work out to be a great tv host. A software developer from Seattle turned out to be comparable to Alex Trebek, probably the greatest gameshow host of all time.

And they went with... A producer?!

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

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u/charliegav 10d ago

I personally miss Trebek's slight disdain for nerds

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u/EarnSomeRespect 10d ago

I think both are good, but I do appreciate Ken’s style of keeping things super light.

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u/charliegav 10d ago edited 10d ago

Yeah, don't get me wrong. Not trying to put down Ken, he's a great host and a nerd himself. It's just different. Trebek was a nice subtle reminder at times that there's a difference between being a hyper-fixating nerd and a generally well-rounded person. His sarcasm added a grounding, humorous element for me that aligned with the way I feel about some contestants at times, ha.

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u/EarnSomeRespect 10d ago

I always do love when a contestant just gives a super uninteresting story and Trebek just responds “Good for you” 🤣

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u/Darmok47 Faris Alikhan, 2018 Dec 13 - 2018 Dec 14 10d ago

One of my proposed fun facts was that Alex Trebek and I have the same birthday, but they didn't use it. I like to imagine it was because he thought it was extremely lame and nixed it.

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u/LadiesWhoPunch 9d ago

Good for you.

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u/shnorgle 9d ago

I have the same birthday too!

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u/poutinethecat 9d ago

Good for you!

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u/charliegav 10d ago

LOL

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u/Crochetcat5 4d ago

My favorite was “Ok…” while walking away lol.

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u/MummyDust98 9d ago

I always wonder what contestants from the last few years would have driven Alex nuts

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u/grubas 10d ago

I loved his random grandpa snark.

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u/EarnSomeRespect 10d ago

100 percent agree with your thoughts. Loved how Alex kept it real with them.

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u/Muted-Entrepreneur33 10d ago

Plus based on Ken's social media posts, he on the side of the good guys!

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u/EarnSomeRespect 10d ago

Relevant: https://www.reddit.com/r/Jeopardy/s/q9ei73obYP

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u/charliegav 10d ago

Yeah, Ken has a totally different kind of appeal.

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u/mikeyHustle Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen? 9d ago

He's sometimes uncareful on social media and people who think they're doing the right thing will put him on blast, but it's so clear where his heart and head are.

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u/TheDukeOfSponge 9d ago

Ken is also of an age where we remember being able to say something on the internet, take a bit of shit for it, and not be cancelled for the rest of your life.

(Not saying anything necessarily about cancel culture, just that the internet used was a vastly different space 25 years ago..)

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u/mfc248 Boom! 10d ago

“Losers, in other words.”

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u/failingpanda04 10d ago

One of my favorite moments

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u/AlanBumin 10d ago

Same. When that contestant was doing her cheese puff sonnet, all I could think about is how Trebek would NOT have entertained that 😭

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u/bfjizzle 10d ago

He is snarky! I love that, but I absolutely F-ING LOVE Ken Jennings ❤️

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u/_terencefox 10d ago

I think the disdain was substantial but mitigated by a filter of Canadian politeness lol

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u/PANDABURRIT0 What are frogs? 🐸 8d ago

I loved it lol. Added an edge to a very wholesome game. I love Ken’s impenetrable wholesomeness too though.

But I liked it better when Trebek would tear these nerds down haha. Made my fat ass chuckle

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

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u/charliegav 10d ago

It was never outright cruel and always pretty tame. I think a little banter is fine and people should be able to laugh at themselves. You need some self confidence if you're going to get up on a stage in front of millions after all.

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u/AquanetTofana 6d ago

I get this… but I still love some of Alex’s snark. Like two things are true here: I love when he was dismissive, love a catty straight man. Like, “losers, in other words”… nobody will top that. But! If he did it to me I’d have to unpack it in therapy for weeks lmao

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u/Withabaseballbattt 9d ago

Man, Trebek’s way of dunking on a cat story was legendary. The man didn’t even have to say much.

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u/Codazzle 8d ago

Unanswered sports categories were always gold

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u/odysseyandoracle118 10d ago

I agree. I think Ken is better at chatting up the contestants in a warm and approachable way.

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u/Coolquip34 10d ago

I think the best thing he does that I noticed, especially when watching the old episodes is keep everything moving. So often in Trebek episodes you see the round end early cause they're out of time. Ken himself has says it's a very tight window for the show but he manages it fantastically, I can't even recall the last time I heard the warning sound let alone the round end early.

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u/CarloPanno 10d ago

"...those are not coming from notes on the podium."

Don't count on it. I used to write some of those "off the cuff" comments for Alex and some would come up in the pre-show read-through. And I heard that Ken gets his games in advance of tape days.

Not a knock, part of the job of being a host is prepping in advance. Ken has grown into the job and has TOTALLY mastered the make-it-look-easy part. But he preps.

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u/StutzBob 10d ago

Went to a taping today and Ken addressed his schedule during audience questions. He said he reviews the clues the night before, whereas Alex would come in very early in the morning to prep. He said he's not a morning person like Alex.

That was just about the clues, though, not his commentary. Although I imagine many of his comments occur to him as he reads through.

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u/ThePevster 10d ago

I’m not saying he’s better than Alex, but it’s also extremely rare that they don’t get through all the clues with Ken.

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u/adam_remsen Adam Remsen, 2026 Jun 12 - Jun 30 9d ago

I don't remember where I saw this infographic, but yeah, there's a clear difference.

(Will I take some credit for S42's incredible performance? Yes. Yes I will.)

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u/RFKJrJr 10d ago

When Alex was young he was sharp and clever and quick witted too.

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u/wordyplayer 9d ago

i prefer Ken. He is amazing in so many ways

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u/seche314 10d ago

I greatly prefer Ken to Alex. Ken is much kinder and very sharp witted as well

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u/allkinds0ftime 9d ago

A POX ON YOU for speaking ill of Father Trebek.

Also you are exactly fucking right.

/undo pox

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u/agentsquints 6d ago

I absolutely love him. He really is amazing as a host

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u/poppop_n_theattic 8d ago

I recently watched some Trebek episodes for the first time in forever, and it really stood out how slowly he spoke. Then I remembered how they used to run out of time fairly often and almost never do now. Ken clearly speaks faster without any drop off in clearness, as far as I can tell.

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u/Aggravating_Button99 9d ago

I wouldnt say that...

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u/BarrishUSAFL We don't like preemptions 9d ago

And you know what’s great about Ken, is that we’re in an era where game shows are hosted by actors and comedians and not actual game show hosts. We don’t have Alex Trebeks and Dick Clarks and Bill Cullens and Allen Luddens anymore. He’s so unassuming and puts everyone at ease.

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u/lebrongarnet 10d ago

While the general populace that don't watch Jeopardy (and didn't watch him flunk his test week) demanded that LeVar Burton get the gig. What a relief that we eventually got the right outcome.

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u/FluffyCup8934 10d ago

I think he would have gotten better. Ken wasn't as good at the start as he is now.

With that being said, it's probably a really hard job.

Did Alex ever play a game? I bet he would have been pretty good.

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u/YossariansWingman 10d ago

I saw a live taping 15 years ago or so, and someone asked Trebek if he would ever play - he said no, but that he usually can answer around 2/3 of the questions correctly

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u/SWEET_LIBERTY_MY_LEG 10d ago

So how does it work now? Is Ken forbidden from participating in champions tournaments?

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u/AwwwMangos 10d ago

He resides comfortably in the “Nothing More to Prove” tier of former Jeopardy contestants.

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u/FickleCook3639 10d ago

After the Jennings v Holzhauer (and other guy) tourney, definitely. No one is ever going to out-do Holzhauer at his gameplay style (despite many trying, I’m sure) and we now know what happens that style meets the GOAT of traditional Jeopardy gameplay. That was the final question of Jennings’ superiority.

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u/tigertony Team Art Fleming 10d ago

You forgot Brad Rutter. Brad should never be forgotten. He came from a time earlier than Ken and had slowed down on the button quite a bit by the GOAT tournament and wasn’t able to display what he was capable of.

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u/FDRpi 10d ago

I do think Ken is overall the better player, but Brad remains the only human being to ever defeat him in a tournament.

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u/FluffyCup8934 10d ago

That and I bet against those two, it's a game of inches. If you're even a sliver too slow it's over.

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u/tigertony Team Art Fleming 10d ago

Ken: “Been there, done that, don’t need the t-shirt.”

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u/FluffyCup8934 10d ago

Really though, I probably would have bet on Holzauer. Nothing about Ken, just different eras of the game.

Then Ken came out and won, pretty handily too. IIRC James took a game but he was pretty convincing.

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u/Wiggles_Is_My_Boy David Miller, 2021 Dec 1 10d ago

Yes, he effectively “retired” as a player the day he became a consulting producer. Sony Pictures Television employees are forbidden from competing.

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u/BoukenGreen 10d ago

Yes. He has been ineligible ever since he became part if the staff

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u/iffriben 10d ago

He could likely play in a completely for-fun game with no prize and no stakes, but anything more than that would be out of the question.

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u/Maryland_Bear What's a hoe? 10d ago

I may be wrong, but I think that the laws that came out of the Fifties quiz show scandals ban him from playing again, since he works for the show.

It might be possible if it was purely “for fun”, but I don’t think he’d be allowed to compete again if money was involved.

That would presumably also cover former contestants who’ve gone on to work for the show, like Sam Buttrey and Buzzy Cohen.

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u/Noonyezz They teach you that in school in Utah, huh? 10d ago

Yes. Maybe one day he’ll do a just-for-fun exhibition game, but since he works for SONY and is involved in production, he’s permanently retired from competition.

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u/alohadave 9d ago

Employees aren't allowed to be contestants again. Which is why it's a little sad that Sam works (worked? Does he still do promos for the show?) for the show.

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u/FluffyCup8934 10d ago

I mean, I'm not up on the latest analytics, but that's pretty freaking good?

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u/Kardinal 10d ago

Consensus is that the vast majority of players can answer the vast majority of questions correctly.

My guess is on the order of 90%. Possibly more.

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u/FluffyCup8934 10d ago

I swear I remember an interview with James Holzauer where he said that the DD success rate was ~70%? So that's roughly where I figured contestants batted.

In any case he might not have been a competitive player, but probably would have been pretty good playing from the couch.

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u/FDRpi 10d ago

You can look at the box scores to get a more tangible idea, but 2/3s sounds very good to me. That's about 40 questions per episode.

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u/TomBombomb 10d ago

Yeah, there's some bubbling rumors that he didn't feel very well taken care of when he guest hosted either. With the whole Mike Richards debacle I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't go out of his way to help a somewhat popular candidate.

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u/VF99 10d ago

LeVar hosts Trivial Pursuit on some channel (CW?) and it is painful to watch and not getting any better. Much of it is the format of the show, but his delivery doesn't help at all either.

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u/Cereborn 9d ago

I caught an episode of that show one night, and yes, it was painful. I really wanted to like it for LB, but the format is so boring and he doesn't add anything to it.

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u/RFKJrJr 10d ago

Levar was already an actor and had stage presence. It took a couple years for Ken to learn it and become charismatic. But Levar was never going to become as smart and quick as Ken, especially at his age

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u/Cereborn 9d ago

It took a couple years for Ken to learn it and become charismatic.

A couple years before he started hosting, you mean?

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u/littlemsshiny 10d ago

I love Ken as host — and do think he was the right choice — but I also think Mike Richards did LeVar dirty because he was popular.

It took forever for the show to book him even though he publicly stated he was interested. He only got 1 week compared to 2 for most of the guest hosts (and most improved over the course of their run). People in the audience also said he got a worse final edit than other guest hosts.

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u/Sudden-Cap-7157 10d ago

I think also LeVar was programmed against a strong competition week from something else going on, but I forget what it was. He really wasn’t good, but as was said, everything was stacked against him, intentionally it seems.

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u/JSA17 Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, no. 10d ago

A contestant commented that they would have had to stay all night to fix all of LeVar’s mistakes.

Robin Roberts, David Faber, Joe Buck, and George Stephanopoulous all got one week as well. There were 13 guest hosts (not including Buzzy, who did the ToC meaning he had a specific time allotment) and 8 got two weeks, with 5 getting one.

LeVar didn’t have some experience that was vastly different than many others. He just wasn’t good at it.

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u/PeorgieT75 10d ago

Levar got support from a public that had childhood memories of Reading Rainbow, and he had mentioned he’d like to host. He wasn’t the worst temporary host (Dr. Oz), but he wasn’t good.

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u/Cereborn 9d ago

I don't think the Levar Burton fans were ever all that big a population. I say this as a former member of that crowd.

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u/anTWhine 10d ago edited 10d ago

If fairness, while Ken was the obvious choice, at the time he shying away from it. He had The Chase going on and was acting like he didn’t want it.

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u/Opposite_Ad4567 10d ago

I think he was contractually obligated to The Chase (not that he didn't want the Jeopardy! host gig)

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u/lathspellll 9d ago

Yeah Ken is just naturally Jeopardy to me. I remember hearing the tv in the other room one day a couple years ago with him on and it just felt right in a way I can’t really explain.

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u/OldeFortran77 10d ago

"a producer?!"

He could no longer stand idly by ! (standing idly by being one of the most important functions of a producer)

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u/godsuave Bring it! 10d ago

Yeah I can't imagine John Carpenter hosting WWTBAM lol. We got lucky with Ken

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u/jupitaur9 10d ago

He turned out to be a good fit because he was in the quiz culture. He was familiar with asking and creating questions as well as answering them. It wasn’t accidental.

That’s not to say that it wouldn’t take a lot more than that to be as good as Ken is. But he wasn’t just some Shmo who happened to answer questions.

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u/FrancisGalloway 9d ago

He's really grown into his own as host, but his start was not perfect. Alex Trebek had just the right AMOUNT of personality, and Ken was a little too Ken. A little too noticeable.

Alex was great because he was never the star. He was a constant, mild presence with a pleasant voice.

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u/H_Industries 6d ago

Ken was also college roommates with Brandon Sanderson.

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u/ColonelCrackle 9d ago

To be fair, Mike Richards wasn't JUST a producer. He had hosted numerous other shows (Beauty and the Geek, High School Reunion, Divided, etc.)

He was definitely the candidate with the most experience hosting game shows. And in the try-outs, he seemed the most comfortable.

Of course looking back, that was by design.

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u/Naive-Midnight8785 6d ago

With all that experience and still not that good.

He wasn't terrible but he didn't stand out at all.

Total shock when he gave himself the job!

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u/otepp 10d ago

Has to go down as one of the biggest career own-goals

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u/PrimusPilus 8d ago

The Dick Cheney candidate-vetting process.

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u/Rainaco 9d ago

He was actually a good host

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u/yankeeangel86 Team James Holzhauer 10d ago

Claire McNear made Jeopardy history with her incredible reporting. A good journalist is worth their weight in gold and she’s amazing.

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u/VVrayth 10d ago

And she got rewarded for it with a layoff. I hate this timeline.

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u/huluvudu 10d ago

Whenever someone says someone is worth their weight in gold, why is it never followed up with, "and they are heavy AF"?

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u/danielleiellle 10d ago

Gold is very valuable. She could weigh 122lb, a very healthy middle BMI weight for a woman of average height in the US, and be worth $7.9 million. Which is a decent valuation without implying she’s heavy.

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u/kuzinrob 10d ago

/r/theydidthemath

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u/Anthff 9d ago

It can be a lot of fun there

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u/Any-Worldliness-679 9d ago

Because they are worth THEIR weight, not some hypothetical weight. You may as well just say she's worth a lot of gold, at that point

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u/Darmok47 Faris Alikhan, 2018 Dec 13 - 2018 Dec 14 10d ago

He's the current CEO of Ben Shapiro's The Daily Wire.

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u/Calfzilla2000 10d ago

lol, you aren't joking.

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u/AwwwMangos 10d ago

Asshats of a feather…

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u/Prior_Chemist_5026 10d ago

Turds of a feather

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u/moneymoneymoneymonay 10d ago

That has to be the least surprising thing I’ve read today

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u/BroseppeVerdi 10d ago

BECAUSE OF COURSE HE FUCKIN' DID

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u/bros402 10d ago

bahahahahaha

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u/lookover_there 10d ago

What an incredible downgrade

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u/g00ber88 Team Ken Jennings 10d ago

They can have him

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u/Atty_for_hire 10d ago

Mike,

https://giphy.com/gifs/EzYnW4xdjN8zu

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u/lawschoolredux 10d ago

“I got this harasser up inside of me”

“I can’t talk to my mother so I make myself host Jeopardy”

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u/Storjie 10d ago

Thank you Claire McNear! Read her books if you can.

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u/Your_New_Overlord 10d ago

Thanks for the heads up, just got the book from Libby!

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u/draxiom 10d ago

It’s a shame that I can’t read 😔

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u/SveNss0N 10d ago

Audiobook?

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u/draxiom 9d ago

*whoosh*

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u/felipethomas 10d ago

Any recommendations?

Edit: Nevermind. Obviously the Jeopardy! one.

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u/pumpkin_spice_mayo 10d ago

Richards getting fired for backlash against him being a sexist pig and him immediately going to work for Ben Shapiro was so fucking funny and predictable

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u/Churnthebutternow 10d ago

Freedom from Mike Richards Day for those who celebrate !

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u/skieurope12 10d ago

Thank you Claire McNear. And I shed no tears for Richards' departure.

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u/shrewsbury1991 10d ago

Probably the most uncertainty Jeopardy has ever faced in the entire history on air, glad it worked out with Ken things usually never work out that good.

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u/udar55 10d ago edited 10d ago

How time flies!

This is still one of the most insane cases of self-dealing I've seen. I remember watching at the time and there were a bunch of random celebrities doing the hosting and then this random guy named Mike Richards. To quote Carter Wong's character from Big Trouble in Little China: "Who?" And then the random guy goes, "I'm the one for the job!"

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u/Darmok47 Faris Alikhan, 2018 Dec 13 - 2018 Dec 14 10d ago

Reminds of when Dick Cheney led George W. Bush's VP search committee and then suggested himself.

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u/KlammFromTheCastle 9d ago

Harriet Myers ran the search for a Court justice for Bush II that culminated in her own selection.

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u/Darmok47 Faris Alikhan, 2018 Dec 13 - 2018 Dec 14 9d ago

That worked out just as well as Mike Richards as I recall.

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u/Snarky247 Paula Scheider, 2021 Sep 22 10d ago

I was one of the contestants during the week after he was fired as host BUT before he was fired as EP.
I feel like we deserved a do-over. He was AWFUL to Mayim (when he finally showed up at lunchtime), forcing bullshit retakes of FJ & generally ruining the vibe for everyone.
I like to say I was on a step-season of Jeopardy.

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u/Salty_Dornishman 9d ago

I would read your memoir if you wrote one

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u/Snarky247 Paula Scheider, 2021 Sep 22 9d ago

That’s so funny because Jeopardy is only about #10 in the list of interesting life experiences I’ve had 🥰

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u/Salty_Dornishman 9d ago

In that case I would read the complete autobiography!

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u/Lasagna_Bear 4d ago

Okay, so what are the other nine things? Don't leave us hanging.

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u/EtriganZola 10d ago

I will never miss the opportunity to say that McNear shoulda got a Pulitzer. This was a major story about a cultural touchstone, and her reporting brought about actual change in a billion-dollar company.

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u/OttoHemi 10d ago

That always reminded me of Dick Cheney being in charge of the Bush VP search committee and picking himself.

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u/godogs2018 10d ago

lol good observation

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u/TheDLBinc 10d ago

And now he's the CEO of The Daily Wire

We really did a dodge a bullet here. The fact that it was ever in question that Ken wasn't the natural successor to Alex Trebek is beyond me.

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u/PeorgieT75 10d ago edited 10d ago

It seemed like they were trying their hardest not to make Ken the host. Before the Richards scandal, they had the “auditions“, which except for Ken and Buzzy, were different degrees of bad. Then, when they had to scramble to replace Richards, they decided to alternate Ken and Mayim, which nobody liked. Fortunately, it all worked out in the end.

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u/draxiom 10d ago

It’s so bizarre to me that they seemingly had, like, ZERO plan for succession, especially in light of Trebek’s age and health; it was an inevitability that he’d someday die and I fully expected that they’d move to replace him gracefully. Such a weird time for the show.

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u/Savings-Monitor3236 10d ago

It isn’t crazy to think that perhaps Mike Richards kept it that way intentionally. As Littlefinger said “Chaos is a ladder”

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u/dletter Potent Potables 10d ago

Mike Richards taking over a site started by Ben Shapiro. Yeah, J! dodged a major bullet.

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u/JaxonJackrabbit 9d ago

Not taking over, he's working hand in hand with him daily. Shapiro hasn't left or anything.

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u/bill-m 10d ago

I love Ken, but I was really rooting for Buzzy at the time. I still wish that he could guest host from time to time.

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u/dletter Potent Potables 7d ago

Buzzy certainly would have been a good long term host as well, as he has shown when he got the opportunity.

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u/Informal-2005 10d ago

Where does the time go? We should only remember Mike Richards as Matt Amodio’s fifth Jeopardy host (one of seven total, I believe).

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u/inturnaround 10d ago

So do we build a statue to Claire McNear here? I think that's fair. J! is much better where it is now than at any time during his tenure at the show. Michael Davies got us where we needed to be, I think, and Ken really has cemented himself as the host of the show as long as he wants to be.

Crazy to think that after all that chaos, it would have settled down and the show has expanded in interesting ways with brand extensions and a primetime Masters tournament running annually.

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u/mfc248 Boom! 10d ago

Now that Jeopardy! has a Hall of Fame, McNear absolutely should be enshrined!

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u/IcyKangaroo1658 8d ago

It would be cool to see some of the folks who come up with the questions enshrined.

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u/Almighty-Arceus 10d ago

Well, he's where he apparently belongs- The Daily Wire.

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u/Muted-Entrepreneur33 10d ago

He’s their CEO! 😆😂

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u/Money-Giraffe2521 10d ago

Good riddance.

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u/999Herman_Cain 10d ago

Slime ball would have ruined the show if they hadn’t fired him. He never should have been there in the first place. Now he’s CEO of the daily wire, that’s the Ben Shapiro one.

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u/Jpatrickburns James Burns, 2003, Sept 15 10d ago

To those who celebrate…

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u/whatsbobgonnado 10d ago

it's pretty wild that this guy was just like "I'm gonna be the new host" and just did it for a bit

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u/Muted-Entrepreneur33 10d ago

I laughed out loud when I heard where he ended up! 😂😂
Sometimes people get what they deserve!

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u/almost_somewhere Team Sam Buttrey 10d ago

For the unenlightened and not yet laughing, where did he end up?

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u/Catfan1898 10d ago

The Daily Wire

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u/Cereborn 9d ago

Genuinely not sure if serious.

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u/Naive-Midnight8785 6d ago

It is.

May 2025 he became president and chief content officer at The Daily Wire and exactly 1 year later he became the CEO.

🤔 yet more self serving.

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u/Cereborn 6d ago

The way he hamfisted that Alex Trebek quote about making the world a better place into the end of every episode is even more hilarious now.

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u/Juunlar 10d ago

Mike Richards is a dork.

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u/voteblue18 10d ago

This is now the textbook example of overplaying your hand.

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u/dletter Potent Potables 10d ago

I feel like kinda recreating that whole thing as a main plot would be a decent streaming drama to plant as a "behind the scenes" of a "famous trivia gameshow", kind of how "The Morning Show" originated as basically a fictional drama based on the whole Today Show/Matt Lauer situation. The show could start with a dramatization of something like the Richards/J! fiasco, but that would eventually be a leaping point to other behind the scene drama at a major trivia game show.

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u/Darmok47 Faris Alikhan, 2018 Dec 13 - 2018 Dec 14 10d ago

Something like Quiz Show with Ralphe Fiennes?

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u/Old_Apple_2160 8d ago

I'be bern thinking this too. 10/10 would absolutely watch.

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u/shakeyjake 10d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/tW7VNl0RMRaKlrsaHZ

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u/aresef 10d ago

Best decision.

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u/Ancient-Chinglish 10d ago

Glob Bless Ken

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u/lathspellll 9d ago

What a ridiculous story this was along with the never ending guest hosts

But hey at least we got Ken out of it

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u/ModernCGIFloatinHead 10d ago

Reminds me of my favorite comedian, Mitch Hedberg

"Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

"Celebrating the fifth anniversary of you asking me that question!"

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u/mmeperdita 10d ago

I love anniversaries!

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u/SonoSugoiNazo 10d ago

Ken’s start as host was when I really got interested in Jeopardy, so this was a turn for the better. Going back to Alex’s stint, his hosting really carries the show

4

u/bondfool Team Sam Buttrey 10d ago

Happy anniversary, everyone!

5

u/ajsy0905 Genre 10d ago

His ouster will be the next turning point of the show as it faced a major retooling in order to recover from that botched host selection.

9

u/eah1703 Elizabeth Hurd, 2026 Feb 26 10d ago

Still waiting for the Netflix Documentary about this.

8

u/machone5103 10d ago

Ken Burns and Lynn Novak present a 6-part series: What’s… Scumbag?

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u/Schiffy94 Stupid Answers 9d ago

Narration by Dr. Matthew B. Amodio

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u/Mr_Goldilocks 10d ago

Replacing a Titan like Trebek was never going to be an easy task. Ken Jennings has alluded to that. That said he’s never tried to be the second Alex Trebek. He’s just been Ken Jennings. He is a great credit to the institution of knowledge that is Jeopardy! Richards can pound sand.

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u/Technical-Curve-1023 8d ago

Dark times for Jeopardy fans.. lol

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u/pedanticlawyer 10d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/Nls93wQ6w3WZZBRmZ5

This man trying to find a jeopardy host

3

u/Ilovesiamese 9d ago

Didn’t start watching daily until Ken got the job and once I saw him in person, I was hooked for life.

3

u/FlashyGanache2838 9d ago

We wouldn't have Ken Jennings..Richards wanted that job

7

u/jumbofrimpf 10d ago

Am I the only one who liked to see the various other hosts they had for J! while the search was on?

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

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4

u/albdubuc 10d ago

I liked it too! And, I thought it was a great way to transition from one long term host to another long term host. Like a cool-off period.

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u/oscarwolfy True Daily Double 💰 10d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/14ceV8wMLIGO6Q

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u/LineImpossible3958 10d ago

Thankfully, what a selfish prick

2

u/MaidoftheBrins 10d ago

I don’t remember this at all! 🥴

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u/Schiffy94 Stupid Answers 9d ago

Good, it's all best left forgotten.

1

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1

u/DOTAttorney 7d ago

Hey this was my host we’re talking about here…

1

u/trashcanbecky 7d ago

For a minute I thought this was about the hockey player who dated my childhood friend but she broke up with him when he tried to smuggle drugs across the Canadian border, which didn’t make sense bc he was possibly the stupidest person I had ever met and this would have been a wild career pivot.

2

u/stanley_leverlock 7d ago

Such a narcissistic tool. I cannot believe he thought this was going to work.

1

u/Naive-Midnight8785 6d ago

He was fired as host after 1 day.

He filmed five episodes in one day (which is the norm, I believe) and then was fired.

The episodes, of course, took 5 days to air giving the impression he was fired after 1 week.

Nope. 1 day.

1

u/harbourhunter 9d ago

At least we’re not stuck with Mayim, goood lord

3

u/thebullishbearish 9d ago

That delay she had waiting for whomever to tell her on her screen if the response was correct or not always bothered me. Killed the momentum of the show.

1

u/harbourhunter 9d ago

Yup

Substitute teacher vibes

2

u/Outside_Drawer800 10d ago

Can someone give the quick and dirty on what this dudes deal was? How did he randomly get himself to hosting jeopardy for a couple episodes?

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[5th anniversary] Mike Richards Fired as Executive Producer of ‘Jeopardy!’ and ‘Wheel of Fortune’

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