The Future of Jeopardy: Alex Trebek and his successor

[Rumpy]

Yeah, more auditions, which IMHO they should have done behind the scenes from the start before Alex passed away, IMHO, instead of this charade. They needed a contingency plan. All this has served to do in the end was create a loss of integrity and prestige on the overall show. The whole way they've conducted this has been sloppily done, especially knowing now what happened behind the scenes.

Some might be interested to know that the high school that Alex attended while growing up here has had a mural of him painted on it. It's been done as part of an art and music festival that happens every year, and different parts of the city receive murals, and this year it was his school.

https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/vide ... ry-4236894

[Blackhawk]

I don't really follow it - were they presented as being auditions, or were they just guest hosts?

If the latter, it's entirely possible that they had some people involved who had no actual desire to take it up as a career.

[Rumpy]

I think it was a bit of both. The search was presented as an opportunity to search for the next permanent host. Richards being producer, had a hand it it. Somewhere along the line, he's announced as also being in the running. Then at the end of it all, promptly announces himself as the permanent host. Sure, some of them it was understood would never become host due to how busy they are and did it just for fun, but some like LeVar, really put themselves out there as wanting the job. Richards had full control of the outcome, telling the guest-hosts what to do, what to say, and there's no telling if their outcomes were swayed in his favor. Or the intent might have been to have himself be the host from the beginning. That's why all of this feels so disingenuous. If none of them were going to matter in the first place, they could have been upfront about it, but they didn't. They made a big deal about this being a search for Alex's successor from the beginning.

The fact that he made himself the host and made one of the guest-hosts as secondary prime-time special host kind one gives one the idea that it was all about him. Made it feel like the entire search didn't matter at all. It's like someone who crowns themselves Emperor.

[Hrothgar]

My understanding is that (before the podcasts surfaced) the most questionable thing Richards had done was how he got into the running in the first place. There are some reports that it would have been possible to reschedule around Ken Jennings conflicts, but that Richards just stepped in to fill the gap. Some would call that resourcefulness, some would call it slimy. It was his performance that got him in the running. He had great pacing and let the contestants shine.

Sony seemed to be the ones driving the search. They relied heavily on focus group reactions to guest hosts. Several reports had Mayim Bialik as the winner and Sony offered her the job. She didn't have time with her sitcom so they offered her the specials/prime time gig. Richards was the second choice.

I'm sure neither Sony nor Richards expected the kind of backlash from the internet they got. Unfortunately a large portion of that came from the Burton crowd. He was quite gracious, but his supporters were not. They wanted a head. I might have some respect for that, but several of the prominent voices admitted they had only watched Burton's episodes out of the whole season. If that had resulted in a huge rating spike, that might mean something. Burton had the lowest ratings of the season. Admittedly, he was up against the heart of the Olympics. Faber had the second lowest ratings, also during the Olympics. Notably the rating tapered off over the whole season. I wouldn't be surprised if Buck bumps Burton out of last place when his numbers are released. Also, I was wrong. Buck was neither great not a train wreck. He had a few good moments offset by a few over the top moments, overall average.

I'm not crushed that Richards is gone. It was a safe choice to carry on the legacy. I'd like to see Gupta, Bialik or Jennings based on their performances. I think Rodgers and Cohen improved the most over their runs. Given time they could be great. My dark horse candidate is Robin Roberts. She seemed to be having the most fun of all the guest hosts. My long shot is Jeff Probst. Rock and Roll Jeopardy man.

[Daehawk]

I finally got the external antennae my sister gave me to pick up 3 channels. One is ABC. Jeopardy was on just now. It was a old Champion edition ep. But you know whats funny? Even after knowing Alex is dead and gone and reading about replacements and all this stuff.....I didn't even realize while watching that it was a Saturday, it was a rerun, and it was Alex hosting. He was host my entire life and it was just normal for me to see him there. Kinda sad to think about that but thats the way it was tonight.

[Rumpy]

If that had resulted in a huge rating spike, that might mean something. Burton had the lowest ratings of the season. Admittedly, he was up against the heart of the Olympics. Faber had the second lowest ratings, also during the Olympics. Notably the rating tapered off over the whole season. I wouldn't be surprised if Buck bumps Burton out of last place when his numbers are released. Also, I was wrong. Buck was neither great not a train wreck. He had a few good moments offset by a few over the top moments, overall average.

It's not even a Burton issue. It's an issue at heart with the whole process, and Burton just so happens to make it easier to see what happened. Yes, he was up against the Olympics, but that's far from being the only issue. Consider that he had only a single day of taping, and also had a champion that must have been daunting to deal with and throwing him off his balance for his entire run, but not only that, he was taking on a dream job, and who isn't nervous on their dream job? The fact that he had one the lowest ratings therefore shouldn't factor into his performance, because many of these things were out of his control. Nevermind the fact that he was actually the top favourite on the viewer poll that the network released. And then there's the fact that Richards was in charge of sending clips to a focus group and apparently made himself look better.

If they'd been transparent about everything, I think there'd be less upset.

I'd like to see Ken Jennings host some more. I also think someone like Ben Stein would do well given that he's previously hosted a trivia game show not entirely dissimilar to Jeopardy.

[Jeff V]

* I would definitely watch a new Jeopardy with a computer-generated hologram Alex. I'd at least give it a try

Good point, why wasn't Watson considered?

[Holman]

[El Guapo]

How Do They Keep Botching This? Jussie Smollett Has Resigned As The New Host Of ‘Jeopardy!’ After Fans Unearthed A Hate Crime He Staged In 2019.

Finding a successor to Alex Trebek has become a full-on disaster for ABC. Mike Richards’ and Mayim Bialik’s Jeopardy! hosting duties were quickly derailed after controversial statements both had made in the past resurfaced online, and now, history has repeated itself with the network’s latest pick to fill the role: Jussie Smollett has resigned as the new host of Jeopardy! after fans unearthed a hate crime he staged in 2019.

Yikes…just yikes. How on earth do they keep botching this?!

Earlier today, ABC announced that actor and singer Jussie Smollett would take over as the host of Jeopardy!, a move that clearly hoped to soothe public outrage surrounding Mike Richards and Mayim Bialik. However, not even an hour after the former Empire star was crowned as Trebek’s successor, Internet users looked into Smollett’s past and pretty much immediately dug up a controversial 2019 incident in which Smollett had faked a hate crime against himself in downtown Chicago—a case that resulted in the actor being indicted on 16 felony counts and investigated by the FBI. The ugly details of Smollett’s past spread like wildfire on social media, and later in the morning, Smollett released a statement announcing that he would be stepping down from the role.

“When I accepted ABC’s offer to become the new permanent host of Jeopardy!, I never intended for my racial hoax to bring such negative publicity and further delays to the show’s production,” read the statement from Jussie Smollett. “As a fan of Jeopardy!, this job was a dream come true for me. However, over the past hour or so since taking on the role, it’s become clear that my staged hate crime is too much of a distraction to Jeopardy! fans for me to remain host. The fact that it has been over two and a half years since I lied to police about being assaulted by men in MAGA hats is no excuse, and I now know I have a lot more work to do to regain the public’s trust. I wish ABC and Sony Pictures TV the best of luck on their continued search for Alex Trebek’s replacement.”

Oof. Jeopardy! is officially 0 for 3. This show seriously needs to reexamine its vetting process.

While it’s certainly for the best that Jussie stepped down as host, the damage has been done, with Jeopardy! once again canceling production on new episodes until further notice. Inside sources say the show has a small pool of potential replacements in consideration, with Stephen Rannazzisi, Marilyn Manson, and Tila Tequila rumored as top contenders, but otherwise, there’s been no official word from ABC regarding their next steps. Whoever the show follows Jussie Smollett with, producers had better vet them a lot more carefully than they have their past three picks, because they absolutely cannot afford yet another PR debacle like this one!

[hepcat]

I hate cancel culture, but as a rule of thumb, don't write/say dumb and offensive shit in public/on social media. Why is it so hard for these morons to understand this?

Before you write/say something, ask yourself, "would i yell this in a crowded room?". If the answer is no, then don't. Sheesh.

[Isgrimnur]

Ah, fun with satire.

Inside sources say the show has a small pool of potential replacements in consideration, with Stephen Rannazzisi, Marilyn Manson, and Tila Tequila rumored as top contenders, but otherwise, there’s been no official word from ABC regarding their next steps.

[Zaxxon]

Edit - I see I'm just an idiot.

[hepcat]

Er....I think that was satire.

[Zaxxon]

Er....I think that was satire.

[hepcat]

Need I remind you I own a copy of The Postman? In other words, don't feel bad.

[jztemple2]

I hate cancel culture, but as a rule of thumb, don't write/say dumb and offensive shit in public/on social media. Why is it so hard for these morons to understand this?

Before you write/say something, ask yourself, "would i yell this in a crowded room?". If the answer is no, then don't. Sheesh.

Back in my days working for a corporation as a supervisor I went to a meeting where we talked about image and things you can say and shouldn't say. The instructor pointed out that you should never put something in an email or any kind of recording that you wouldn't want published on the front page of the New York Times. I think those are good words to live by.

[jztemple2]

Jussie Smollett? Even after looking this guy up I still half believe that the story was just some kind of false post or April Fool's joke. Does no one at Sony have access to the internet so they can look things up before they try to hire somebody?

[Zaxxon]

Jussie Smollett? Even after looking this guy up I still half believe that the story was just some kind of false post or April Fool's joke. Does no one at Sony have access to the internet so they can look things up before they try to hire somebody?

Well, now I feel less bad.

[malchior]

I hate cancel culture, but as a rule of thumb, don't write/say dumb and offensive shit in public/on social media. Why is it so hard for these morons to understand this?

Before you write/say something, ask yourself, "would i yell this in a crowded room?". If the answer is no, then don't. Sheesh.

Eh. The guy had a "comedy" podcast and I've went and found the segment everyone was talking about. It was mild by shock jock standards. He said something about boobies. Seriously. He also reputedly once made comments way back when on Price is Right about a model's pregnancy. Neither are great but drummed out of the business bad? Because the crew rioted on him? This is a ridiculous time.

Edit: FWIW I think it would have been much, much better if they fired him for his alleged self-dealing since at least that would have looked like a pertinent ethics problem.

[El Guapo]

I hate cancel culture, but as a rule of thumb, don't write/say dumb and offensive shit in public/on social media. Why is it so hard for these morons to understand this?

Before you write/say something, ask yourself, "would i yell this in a crowded room?". If the answer is no, then don't. Sheesh.

Eh. The guy had a "comedy" podcast and I've went and found the segment everyone was talking about. It was mild by shock jock standards. He said something about boobies. Seriously. He also reputedly once made comments way back when on Price is Right about a model's pregnancy. Neither are great but drummed out of the business bad? Because the crew rioted on him? This is a ridiculous time.

Edit: FWIW I think it would have been much, much better if they fired him for his alleged self-dealing since at least that would have looked like a pertinent ethics problem.

It would be much fairer if that's why he was getting fired. The problem is that it's not like it was a secret that he was executive producer of the show, so firing him for that would've implicated a lot of people who are still there. While the podcast jokes are something that they didn't know about, and so can feign outrage about.

[stessier]

I hate cancel culture, but as a rule of thumb, don't write/say dumb and offensive shit in public/on social media. Why is it so hard for these morons to understand this?

Before you write/say something, ask yourself, "would i yell this in a crowded room?". If the answer is no, then don't. Sheesh.

Eh. The guy had a "comedy" podcast and I've went and found the segment everyone was talking about. It was mild by shock jock standards. He said something about boobies. Seriously. He also reputedly once made comments way back when on Price is Right about a model's pregnancy. Neither are great but drummed out of the business bad? Because the crew rioted on him? This is a ridiculous time.

Edit: FWIW I think it would have been much, much better if they fired him for his alleged self-dealing since at least that would have looked like a pertinent ethics problem.

Did you read The Ringer piece by Claire McNear? I'm not losing any sleep over this one.

[malchior]

I hate cancel culture, but as a rule of thumb, don't write/say dumb and offensive shit in public/on social media. Why is it so hard for these morons to understand this?

Before you write/say something, ask yourself, "would i yell this in a crowded room?". If the answer is no, then don't. Sheesh.

Eh. The guy had a "comedy" podcast and I've went and found the segment everyone was talking about. It was mild by shock jock standards. He said something about boobies. Seriously. He also reputedly once made comments way back when on Price is Right about a model's pregnancy. Neither are great but drummed out of the business bad? Because the crew rioted on him? This is a ridiculous time.

Edit: FWIW I think it would have been much, much better if they fired him for his alleged self-dealing since at least that would have looked like a pertinent ethics problem.

Did you read The Ringer piece by Claire McNear? I'm not losing any sleep over this one.

I have and just refreshed myself on the podcast stuff. I still feel that is pretty mild stuff. The model complaints at Price is Right? It isn't awesome but modeling is a career where their appearance is literally a qualifying characteristic for the job. If those are the standards for being run out of the business no one would be there. Like I said if they canned him originally over the self-dealing it'd be ironic since 99% of Hollywood is flexing your ambition but it'd be clean. I just don't find the idea that a few allegations and some light shock jock podcast stuff to be enough to ruin careers. In the end, he got identified by the mob as 'bad'. That's really it. Everyone has something that can be dug up and twisted into a bad narrative. Everyone.

It would be much fairer if that's why he was getting fired. The problem is that it's not like it was a secret that he was executive producer of the show, so firing him for that would've implicated a lot of people who are still there. While the podcast jokes are something that they didn't know about, and so can feign outrage about.

+1.

[YellowKing]

I have a buddy that appeared on a mutual friend's "shock jock" style podcast. It's crude, has tons of sexual innuendo, cussing, etc. However, this is not a nationally recognized podcast - it would barely register a blip in the ocean of podcasts out there and was more of a hobby. However, someone leaked my buddy's appearance on this podcast and he wound up not only losing his job over it, he almost lost his wife and kids. (There were claims that he had his kids with him during his interview and was exposing them to all kinds of sexual content that he most certainly was NOT doing - the show had a snippet of his kid saying something funny, but it was edited in, not recorded live).

It's an extremely sad situation because this guy is like father of the year material - he's a loving and devoted parent and husband and all around good person. He just happened to goof around on the wrong show, some busybody leaked it, and now his life was very nearly ruined. Certainly his career was.

I'm not necessarily defending Mike here, but the cancel culture stuff scares me a great deal. Imagine losing your job and entire family because you decided to appear on one episode of a friend's podcast that nobody listens to but you and your other friends.

[Octavious]

I read the article and while he does seem like a dick I would say that's how A LOT of people get their big breaks in the industry. Stepping on anyone and everything to try and get their shot. There's no flipping way he should have been even a consideration for the Jeopardy role when he was running the show. That was his fatal mistake.

[jztemple2]

OK, back to proposing new hosts. How about Tim Allen? Or will that jail time disqualify him?

[Zaxxon]

OK, back to proposing new hosts. How about Tim Allen? Or will that jail time disqualify him?

Nah, but having endorsed Trump might.

[Isgrimnur]

Disney signed off on him long ago. I'd be more concerned with the Last Man Standing fallout.

The cancellation was met with outrage from the show's fans, many of whom took to social media to voice their displeasure and petition for another network to pick up the show. It also happened some months after lead actor Tim Allen (who is also a real-life Republican) said in an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, that being a Republican in Hollywood is "like 1930s Germany. You gotta be real careful around here, you know. You'll get beat up if you don't believe what everybody believes".

[jztemple2]

Disney signed off on him long ago. I'd be more concerned with the Last Man Standing fallout.

The cancellation was met with outrage from the show's fans, many of whom took to social media to voice their displeasure and petition for another network to pick up the show. It also happened some months after lead actor Tim Allen (who is also a real-life Republican) said in an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, that being a Republican in Hollywood is "like 1930s Germany. You gotta be real careful around here, you know. You'll get beat up if you don't believe what everybody believes".

Sounds true enough for Hollywood.

[Isgrimnur]

Yeah, but you're not supposed to say it.

[jztemple2]

Yeah, but you're not supposed to say it.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Er....I think that was satire.

Fetch the beating wands and cancellation cudgels!

[hepcat]

Jussie Smollett? Even after looking this guy up I still half believe that the story was just some kind of false post or April Fool's joke. Does no one at Sony have access to the internet so they can look things up before they try to hire somebody?

Well, now I feel less bad.

Eh. The guy had a "comedy" podcast and I've went and found the segment everyone was talking about. It was mild by shock jock standards. He said something about boobies. Seriously. He also reputedly once made comments way back when on Price is Right about a model's pregnancy. Neither are great but drummed out of the business bad? Because the crew rioted on him? This is a ridiculous time.

Edit: FWIW I think it would have been much, much better if they fired him for his alleged self-dealing since at least that would have looked like a pertinent ethics problem.

I'm normally right there with you, decrying how awful cancel culture is. But I still think it's good advice to just be careful what the hell you put on social media...or in the media, period. I think you can give that advice and still be against the act of destroying someone's life for going against that advice.

[El Guapo]

Yeah, but you're not supposed to say it.

It's true, but I just can't understand why people have trouble understanding why you shouldn't compare things to Nazi Germany.

[jztemple2]

Yeah, but you're not supposed to say it.

It's true, but I just can't understand why people have trouble understanding why you shouldn't compare things to Nazi Germany.

Why? I think using that time and place as an analogy is perfect. You had to be careful what you said and who might overhear it, or stab you in the back by not keeping it confidential.

[Max Peck]

So, by going on a talk show to talk about how he can't talk about his political beliefs, Tim Allen is like a Nazi collaborator that is betraying Tim Allen to the Hollywood Nazi regime, which then went on to punish him by doing nothing to him? Is that your basic position here?

[jztemple2]

So, by going on a talk show to talk about how he can't talk about his political beliefs, Tim Allen is like a Nazi collaborator that is betraying Tim Allen to the Hollywood Nazi regime, which then went on to punish him by doing nothing to him? Is that your basic position here?

No, I'm not talking about Tim Allen here at all. My point was that using the 1930s Germany analogy is useful for expressing oneself. I was responding to the point that El Guapo was making, "I just can't understand why people have trouble understanding why you shouldn't compare things to Nazi Germany". Sheesh, it's getting to be like Today with Hoda & Jenna here

[Rumpy]

I hate cancel culture, but as a rule of thumb, don't write/say dumb and offensive shit in public/on social media. Why is it so hard for these morons to understand this?

Before you write/say something, ask yourself, "would i yell this in a crowded room?". If the answer is no, then don't. Sheesh.

And don't crown yourself as Emperor.

Wasn't aware about the Jussie Smollett announcement, and then again, I thought the 2019 news about him was fairly big news at the time.

Edit: Ahh, I see. Satire strikes again.

Eh. The guy had a "comedy" podcast and I've went and found the segment everyone was talking about. It was mild by shock jock standards. He said something about boobies. Seriously. He also reputedly once made comments way back when on Price is Right about a model's pregnancy. Neither are great but drummed out of the business bad? Because the crew rioted on him? This is a ridiculous time.

Edit: FWIW I think it would have been much, much better if they fired him for his alleged self-dealing since at least that would have looked like a pertinent ethics problem.

I'm normally right there with you, decrying how awful cancel culture is. But I still think it's good advice to just be careful what the hell you put on social media...or in the media, period. I think you can give that advice and still be against the act of destroying someone's life for going against that advice.

This is sage advice by Hepcat.

Wow, that sounds odd to say. Sorry Hep.

[hepcat]

So let's see a show of hands for people who fell for the Jussie Smollett article.

[Max Peck]

So, by going on a talk show to talk about how he can't talk about his political beliefs, Tim Allen is like a Nazi collaborator that is betraying Tim Allen to the Hollywood Nazi regime, which then went on to punish him by doing nothing to him? Is that your basic position here?

No, I'm not talking about Tim Allen here at all. My point was that using the 1930s Germany analogy is useful for expressing oneself. I was responding to the point that El Guapo was making, "I just can't understand why people have trouble understanding why you shouldn't compare things to Nazi Germany".

Fundamentally, what we're talking about here are the consequences for speaking one's mind. When those consequences are things like prison or the inside of an oven, then it's appropriate to compare the situation to Nazi Germany. When the consequences are things like mean tweets or the possibility that people might decide they don't want to work with them, maybe they should ease up on comparing themselves to the victims of Nazi Germany.

Sheesh, it's getting to be like Today with Hoda & Jenna here

[jztemple2]

So, by going on a talk show to talk about how he can't talk about his political beliefs, Tim Allen is like a Nazi collaborator that is betraying Tim Allen to the Hollywood Nazi regime, which then went on to punish him by doing nothing to him? Is that your basic position here?

No, I'm not talking about Tim Allen here at all. My point was that using the 1930s Germany analogy is useful for expressing oneself. I was responding to the point that El Guapo was making, "I just can't understand why people have trouble understanding why you shouldn't compare things to Nazi Germany".

Fundamentally, what we're talking about here are the consequences for speaking one's mind. When those consequences are things like prison or the inside of an oven, then it's appropriate to compare the situation to Nazi Germany. When the consequences are things like mean tweets or the possibility that people might decide they don't want to work with them, maybe they should ease up on comparing themselves to the victims of Nazi Germany.

OK, I see your point and it's valid. The seriousness of the situation should be appropriate for the analogy.

Sheesh, it's getting to be like Today with Hoda & Jenna here

Those two are famous for how well they get along