Jeopardy! bosses may replace Ken Jennings with Colin Jost as execs ‘know SNL star is capable’ of hosting show
Alex Diaz Darian Lusk
JEOPARDY! producers have not ruled out replacing Ken Jennings with Saturday Night Live star Colin Jost as its main host, a studio insider has told The
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The US Sun
JEOPARDY! producers have not ruled out replacing Ken Jennings with Saturday Night Live star Colin Jost as its main host, a studio insider has told The U.S. Sun.

Colin, 42, was named the host of the new Pop Culture Jeopardy! on Amazon Prime this week, giving Ken, 50, sudden competition.

Ken, the G.O.A.T contestant who won a record 74 straight games, became Jeopardy!'s permanent host after Mayim Bialik was dismissed in December.

Ken is now the official and only host of the nightly or syndicated show and has helmed all specials since.

However, his newly minted status as the franchise's only frontman didn't last long.

Colin was picked to host the streaming-only Pop Culture spinoff, which goes into production this month; premiere date TBA.

Ken has nicely settled into his role hosting the syndicated show and is looking to channel Alex Trebek and do so in the long run.

However, a top-level Sony source claimed that the former champion should be cautious now that Colin has entered the Jeopardy! universe.

They said Colin could fully take over Jeopardy!, including the syndicated show and specials, not because of Ken's mistakes - but if the fanbase or ratings turn on him.

'KEEPING OPTIONS OPEN'

"Knowing the leadership at Sony Pictures TV, the last reason they would fire Ken Jennings is because of on-air mistakes," the source explained.

"It's not a live show; it's taped well in advance, and therefore, mistakes are just as much, if not more, the producer's and writers' responsibility as they are Ken's."

"Instead, the only real reason to replace Ken is if the ratings took a nosedive, and that hasn't happened yet," they added.

"The show is holding steady."

The U.S. Sun previously reported that Ken does not have a long-term contract for his $4 million hosting job, one sign his position isn't set in stone.

"Of course Ken wants to do this for the next twenty years, but he's going to have to get comfortable with only being renewed one or two years at a time for the foreseeable future.

"Sony is keeping him in the hosting job but they are also keeping their options open."

The source added that if Jeopardy! were "100 percent" sold on Ken, he would be named the permanent host of all specials like Celebrity Jeopardy!, which hasn't happened.

Ken is only the official host of the syndicated show, and Celebrity Jeopardy! was recently renewed without a host attached.

"Yes, if they truly had 100% confidence in Ken, they would tap him for their primetime and celebrity editions, which they have decidedly not done.

"But Ken is still finding his groove on the syndicated version of the show and Sony is letting him become the de facto face of the franchise - for now."

SEASON OF TOURNAMENTS EXPLAINED

Ken was recently nominated for his second Emmy for Best Game Show Host, and many fans felt the nod was partly due to how he handled the most recent season.

Season 40, which finished airing in July, was littered with fill-in tournaments because of the WGA strike, making it challenging to navigate as viewers.

The source explained why there were so many tournaments but that the changeup didn't reflect poorly on Ken.

"They're doing the tournaments because they get ratings, as does featuring returning champions.

"It's a tactic to keep the numbers stable when over-the-air TV viewing is declining; the advertisers love them, and that tends to drown out viewer complaints.

"The overall franchise is not 'in jeopardy' because it still makes money on television and is a special kind of cash cow because it reliably generates spin-offs and merchandise on a global scale.

"Jeopardy! is going anywhere because the economics are so powerful and it's been a cornerstone of Sony TV's profitability for so long."

'MASSSIVE NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE'

Still, the source noted that the Jeopardy! franchise made a hard pivot away from Ken by tapping Colin to anchor its Pop Culture spinoff and also explained the reasoning.

"It really looks like a massive no-confidence vote in Ken by tapping Colin Jost, but there's other factors going into this move.

"For one thing, the top Sony Pictures TV execs right now are actually veterans of working at NBC and go back to the 2000's with Colin and his team.

"In some ways he is much more of a known commodity to these executives than Ken - they really know what Colin is capable when you let him do his thing.

"But timing is also a factor: along with this Jeopardy! gig, Colin is hosting some of the Olympics coverage this summer and is clearly branching out from his SNL duties.

"He wasn't even available for this kind of work a year ago.

"Does that mean he's gunning for Ken's job? Let's see how he does later this year.

"In the meantime, hiring Colin gives Sony a lot of leverage over Ken and, tactically, he would be wise to put on a charm offensive and try to win back the support of the show's fans.

"If Colin does really well hosting his shows, and the audience drifts further away from Ken, all bets are off.”

Jeopardy!'s 41st season with Ken as host premieres on September 9, 2024.

JEOPARDY! HOST JOST

On Wednesday, Colin Jost was announced as the host of the game show's new spinoff Pop Culture Jeopardy!.

The Saturday Night Live star will host the first version of the iconic quiz show exclusively on streaming, not cable.

Jost, who's been in Tahiti covering the Olympics for NBC, will helm the tournament-style series, which is separate from all other Jeopardy! productions.

Jost simply said about the news: “What is: I’m excited.”

While Pop Culture Jeopardy! is most certainly its own beast, it's not as separate from the main show as it may seem on paper.

The spinoff is executive produced by Jeopardy!'s showrunner Michael Davies, who picked Ken as host.

It will also be taped at Sony Pictures Studios, where all other shows are taped.

“Colin’s sharp wit and intelligence epitomize Pop Culture Jeopardy!” said Suzanne Prete, Sony's president of game shows, in a statement.

“He’s smart and quick, like our contestants, and we know he’ll be able to keep up with them while making this new series his own. We could not be happier that he is joining us for this new journey.”

“We’re thrilled to welcome the multi-talented Colin Jost as the host of Pop Culture Jeopardy!,” added Lauren Anderson, head of brand and content innovation at Amazon MGM Studios.

“Colin’s wry affability and pop culture fluency make him uniquely qualified as the perfect host for this new iteration of the beloved franchise.”

WHAT IS: POP CULTURE JEOPARDY?

Amazon Prime Video picked up a fresh take on Jeopardy! that will stream exclusively on the platform in May.

The spinoff will be called Pop Culture Jeopardy! and will feature three big changes to the classic format.

Instead of answering general knowledge questions like on the standard edition of the game show, contestants will answer questions about pop culture subjects like music, movies, sports, TV, and more.

In addition, the show will only be streaming instead of broadcasting on TV, like the nightly show.

Finally, there won't be three individual contestants competing against each other. Instead, there will be three three-person teams.

Jeopardy.com described it as follows: "Contestants, playing in teams of three, will need to be experts in categories from Alternative Rock to The Avengers, Broadway to MMA, Gen Z to Zendaya.

"They compete in a tournament-style event for the grand prize and ultimate bragging rights."