Ken Jennings To Be First Interim 'Jeopardy' Host Following Death Of Alex Trebek

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Ken Jennings to be the first interim host of "Jeopardy!" after Alex Trebek's death
Jennings' first episode as host will air the week of Jan. 11
Other guest hosts will be announced in the coming weeks

Weeks after the passing of iconic “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, the quiz show has announced that Ken Jennings, one of the most popular contestants of the long-running series, will be the first interim guest host when it returns to production later this month.

Jennings, who holds the record for the longest winning streak with 74 wins, will be the first of a series of guest hosts before the show decides on a permanent replacement for Trebek, Vulture has learned. The show will resume production on Nov. 30.

Speaking about the new interim host, Mike Richards, the executive producer of “Jeopardy!,” shared that Trebek always wanted the show to “go on after him” and that’s what they are going to do. Richards also noted that the show will continue to bring on familiar faces so that it creates a “sense of continuity for our viewers.”

“We will honor Alex’s legacy by continuing to produce the game he loved with smart contestants and challenging clues,” Richards said.

We will resume production on 11/30 with a series of interim guest hosts from the Jeopardy! family – starting with Ken Jennings. Additional guest hosts to be announced. pic.twitter.com/0MdGqnzp3R
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) November 23, 2020

Other guest hosts will be announced in the coming weeks.

Jennings, who won the “Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time” tournament earlier this year, responded to the news on his official Twitter account and said he is truly “honored” to help the game show with a hosting gig in January 2021.

“There will only ever be one Alex Trebek, but I'm honored to be helping 'Jeopardy!' out with this in January,” Jennings wrote.

There will only ever be one Alex Trebek, but I'm honored to be helping Jeopardy! out with this in January. https://t.co/2m2b5IQnkw
— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) November 23, 2020

Jennings’ first episode as host will be telecasted on Jan. 11, 2021, while Trebek’s last episode as the host will air the week of Jan. 4.

“Jeopardy!” also announced that it will air 10 of Trebek’s best episodes from Dec. 21 to 28.

As we remember and celebrate the life of Alex Trebek, we will air 10 of his best episodes the weeks of 12/21 and 12/28, and air his final week of episodes starting 1/4. https://t.co/HQaNewWa9U pic.twitter.com/aYPUOEuEwF
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) November 23, 2020

Trebek died at the age of 80 on Nov. 8 after a battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Hosting the show since it premiered in 1984, he held the Guinness World Record for hosting the most number of episodes of a single game show (8,200 episodes).

The iconic host, who was born and raised in Canada, is survived by his wife, Jean, whom he married in 1990, and his three children.