JEOPARDY! host Ken Jennings has admitted that filling the late game show host Alex Trebek’s shoes isn’t as easy as it might look.
Ken didn’t hold back when he answered a fan’s question about his on-air gig during an episode of Jeopardy!
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Jeopardy! producer Sarah Foss and game show champion Buzzy Cohen discussed Ken’s, 49, revelation on the podcast Inside Jeopardy!
Prior to their input, a clip was played from the Q&A session held on Jeopardy!
In the snippet, a fan asked Ken what it was like to host the game show.
“I mean Alex made the job look so easy that I think a lot of people assume hosting J! Is no big deal the show kind of runs itself,” he honestly confessed.
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“But that’s because he was so smooth and graceful at it, he made it look so easy. In fact it’s kind of difficult.”
Ken delved into just how hard hosting is for him without holding back.
“I was particularly surprised by how hard [hosting] final J! It’s because they give me this card that has all these numbers on it. ‘Here’s what she had, here’s what she wagered, if she’s right it’s this if she’s wrong it’s this, if she wins here’s what it is added to yesterday,” he explained.
“It took me a while to be like ‘ahh why are they giving me this card with the world’s worst sudoku on it. But I’ve had a few months to get used to it and im a little smoother at it.”
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Ken will no longer have co-host Mayim Bialik, 48, take over hosting for certain game show episodes since she was recently fired.
CAUGHT OFF GUARD
Ken recently opened up about Mayim leaving with the Hollywood Reporter in an exclusive interview.
He shared: “It took me off guard because I loved working with my Mayim and I’m going to miss her. I can’t speak to her decision-making process or her opinions about it.
“But on my end, I’m just a fan of Jeopardy! and I’m always delighted to host when they call upon me. I just feel extremely lucky to have even been considered for this job as a non-broadcaster.”
As for Mayim’s exit, contrary to previous reports, TMZ claimed when the actress stood in solidarity with the WGA, it demonstrated to Sony executives that “they didn’t need two hosts.”
Mayim had been off-screen since May, making a bold exit from Jeopardy! when the WGA went on strike, citing solidarity with her union.
TRIVIA TROUBLES
Mayim broke her own silence earlier this week.
In a subsequent episode of her Bialik Breakdown podcast, Mayim delved into the topic of “processing trauma.”
Sporting a large bow, Mayim shared a symbolic perspective on managing a full mental load.
She advised fans: “If a glass is already full, one extra drop will spill it over.
“The idea with meditation, the idea with therapy, the idea with processing trauma is that it lowers the water in the glass.
“So it takes more drops to get it to spill over.”
Notably, the Instagram clip was the first that’s seen her allow comments, which were turned off when she announced her show departure.
In the comments, one fan wrote: “Brilliantly said – I use this metaphor in session all the time.”
Meanwhile, others pointed out the irony of Mayim discussing therapy, citing her controversial political stances.
Another comment read: “I used to admire you but no more with the complete lack of objectivity about Gaza. Truth matters.”
Later on in the podcast, Mayim spoke about dealing with personal “suffering.”
“It shouldn’t take suffering to lead us to the point of being ready to confront things by meditating.”
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