Mike Richards was the wrong answer, “Jeopardy!” fans say. If it was up to fans of the iconic game show, LeVar Burton would have been selected to succeed Alex Trebek as the game showR…
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‘Jeopardy!’ fans wanted LeVar Burton, not Mike Richards to replace Alex Trebek: poll
By
KARU F. DANIELS
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
AUG 18, 2021 AT 2:51 PM
Mike Richards was the wrong answer, “Jeopardy!” fans say.
If it was up to fans of the iconic game show,
LeVar Burton would have been selected to succeed Alex Trebek as the game show’s host, not
Richards.
A new Morning Consult poll has found that Burton the 64-year-old “Star Trek” actor received 14% of the votes, with just 3% throwing their support behind newly chosen host Richards to permanently replace the late Alex Trebek.
Coming in second place after Burton was “The Big Bang Theory” actress and neuroscientist
Mayim Bialik with 13%.
Last week, Sony Pictures Television
announced that Richards, who served as the show’s executive producer, would become the new host, with Bialik taking the over during prime-time and spinoff “Jeopardy!” specials, including the upcoming “Jeopardy! National College Championship.”
Fans prefer LeVar Burton (left) to Mike Richards as the replacement for the late Alex Trebek (inset) as the host of "Jeopardy."
The decision followed months of tryouts by well-known rotating guest hosts, from former “Jeopardy!” champ Ken Jennings and morning show host Robin Roberts to Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker.
Jennings received 12% of the vote as the No. 1 choice to be the next host.
Burton, the “Roots” star who went on to capture millions of children’s hearts as the multiple Emmy Award-winning host of “Reading Rainbow,” got a shot at the gig after openly campaigning on social media.
More than 260,000 hopeful fans signed a petition to make him the new host of “Jeopardy!” but show brass thought otherwise.
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The ratings sagged during his tryout period, which coincided with the start of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
Alex Trebek died Nov. 8, 2020. (Chris Pizzello/Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Meanwhile, Richards is not new to the game show business. The 46-year-old Burbank, Calif., native’s credits includes hosting “The Pyramid” and “Beauty and the Geek,” as well as serving as executive producer of “The Price Is Right” and “Let’s Make a Deal.”
Richards was recently the center of controversy when reports surfaced about multiple lawsuits launched by models on the show alleging sexual harassment, wrongful termination and insensitivity around an employee’s pregnancy during his tenure as executive producer of “The Price is Right.”
“I want you all to know that the way in which my comments and actions have been characterized in these complaints does not reflect the reality of who I am or how we worked together on ‘The Price is Right,’” Richards wrote to “Jeopardy!” staffers in response to the attention surrounding the lawsuits, which model Brandi Cochran — who claimed she was discriminated against due to her pregnancy — was
awarded $7.7 million in damages.
During an interview on ‘
Objectified,’ Trebek suggested attorney and CNN legal analyst Laura Coates to host “Jeopardy!” if the producers decided to hire a woman to replace him.
Los Angeles Kings play-by-play announcer Alex Faust and Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz was also who thought should be considered.
Burton was hopeful that someone of color be chosen.
“‘Jeopardy!’ occupies a singular place in American culture. To have a person of color or a marginalized person standing behind that podium is good for America. It means something. It’s a milestone marker on this journey toward wholeness that the great American experiment is supposed to be about,” he said during an Esquire interview.