Why Mike Richards was always going to be Jeopardy! host -- and why LeVar Burton didn't stand a chance

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"First of all, Sony & #Jeopardy telegraphed this move early on when it had Richards host right after Ken Jennings," Melanie McFarland explains in a Twitter thread. "Jennings got a 7-week run, but that struck me as something of a stop-gap while production got its list of prospective hosts together. Jennings did...fine. However, on a show that prides itself on making the contestants the stars, having the GOAT as its permanent host ensures that in some respects he would always overshadow them. Having Richards follow Jennings reminded viewers of what Alex Trebek did so well. Richards doesn't directly channel or imitate Trebek, but his manner and delivery is familiar enough to recall the late great host. Of course it is. He was Trebek's EP. And he nailed his two weeks. By then the initial list of guest hosts had been released but, to be honest, most of the selections struck me as lovely tributes and/or theater. Notably, Levar Burton wasn't on that 1st list. Now: you could surmise that the Jeopardy! producers wanted to create some drama with that decision, but let's be real. The show was aware of the fan campaign. It began back in December 2020. Once Burton was added to the list that generated more publicity for him & the show, although obviously his desire get the hosting gig was and is genuine. However, a few things were against Burton from the jump. First, his stardom. Never mind the fact that the reasons he's famous & beloved are aligned with the Jeopardy! ideal. He's still a big star. And remember the whole point of Jeopardy! is to make its contenders the stars of the show. Yes, Trebek was its star when he was host, but the reason for that is he innovated a way of hosting that largely stayed out of contestants' way. He was low-key and comforting. Burton is also low-key and comforting. He's also forever associated with other iconic TV roles, though. And I think that (and yes, his age) worked against him more than his performance during his tryout week. In selecting Richards Jeopardy! is opting for a 'smooth transition' strategy in which the show's calm and comforting familiarity isn't entirely upended. He'll require an acclimation period, as any new person would, but perhaps not as much to diehard viewers. And here's where this analysis gets cold & brutal. Richards was selected despite the many cases made for Jeopardy to display some commitment to diversity by selecting a woman or a person of color because...the job was always his. Richards knows how to guide the game, how to keep the time, the cadence, everything. There's no need for a 'breaking in' period. He's ready to jump in because...he's the younger guy who has always been there. Isn't that how the world works?...For some people?..." McFarland adds: "Mike Richards makes sense for Jeopardy! because this is a show that doesn't need a star, or to change the world. It makes stars & takes pride in being a beacon of stability."

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• Ultimately, Sony chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment Tony Vinciquerra is making the Jeopardy! host decision: CNN's Brian Stelter reports that "Sony was under tremendous pressure to cast an appealing successor" and that ultimately it was Vinciquerra's decision to make despite "leaving viewers with the distinct impression of an audition process" with the many celebrity guest-hosts. "The calendar is a factor because Sony will start to tape the new season of Jeopardy! in the coming weeks ahead of a September premiere," says Stelter. "But Sony may be reluctant to formally name a new permanent host while the on-air tryouts are ongoing." He added: "The sources who spoke with CNN Business said Sony wanted Jeopardy! to be the primary job for the permanent host, instead of recruiting someone who already has one or two other roles."
• Jeopardy! can do better than Mike Richards: "There's nothing objectively wrong with Richards. He's not Dr. Oz — which, let's face it, is a really big plus in his column," says Jeva Lange. "From the point of view of the Jeopardy! higher-ups (er, the even-higher-ups), he makes a lot of sense: He's a veteran of the game show world, having formerly produced The Price Is Right and hosted Beauty and the Geek. He was also repeatedly ranked by critics as being the best of the 15 guest hosts to try their hand at the Jeopardy! hosting gig so far. But replacing a longtime middle-aged white guy with another middle-aged white guy isn't exactly a bold choice. Fans deserve to be excited about the show's new host, and particularly so when the high-profile search for a replacement has left no doubt that Jeopardy! can do better." She adds: "Part of what makes Jeopardy! such a great game show has always been that it's more than just a game show. Richards, who took over as executive producer of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! in 2020, clearly nails the competition part of the requirement. But with his sly humor, Trebek always encouraged his competitors and audiences to be better, to try harder, and to learn something new in the process. We should challenge Jeopardy! to do the same."
• Jeopardy! diehard fans viewed Mike Richards with suspicion, though he was consistently among the Top 5 guest-hosts: "Richards struggled, in particular, to win over many of the show’s most die-hard fans; on the bustling Jeopardy! subreddit, it became a common refrain that he would be better suited taking over Wheel of Fortune, where Pat Sajak has held court since 1981," says Claire McNear. "To many such fans, Richards’s game show experience is regarded with suspicion. Jeopardy! aficionados tend to view the show as belonging to its own class of game show—one where glitz, gimmicks, and excitable contestants are abandoned in favor of rigid trivia and no-nonsense nerds. In that light, Richards’s bona fides at The Price Is Right and Let’s Make a Deal aren’t selling points—they’re hints that the person now possibly taking center stage might have something truly dreadful in mind for their beloved, stodgy quiz show: something flashier, or perhaps even—heaven forbid—fashionable."
• The Jeopardy! casting process is a reminder how little fan input matters: "One fascinating lesson of the Jeopardy/Mike Richards reaction is that Twitter thinks it gets to decide anything it participates in, so companies that use Twitter to create the illusion of fan input but don't actually want it get the blowback they deserve," says Mark Harris.
• Mike Richards is pulling a "reverse Jeff Probst": "Last year, Richards started as executive producer both Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, which means he may be doing a reverse Jeff Probst in two ways: going from reality TV to Jeopardy! and becoming host of the show he currently produces, while Jeff Probst went from Rock & Roll Jeopardy! to reality TV and from host to executive producer/showrunner," says Andy Dehnart, noting Richards' past as Beauty and the Geek host.
• Richards said in May the next Jeopardy! host would have to be someone who can stay in the job for 20 years: "Ultimately, the team at Sony will decide what they think is the right thing for the show," he told Broadcasting & Cable. "We aren’t looking for a three-year host, we’re looking for a 10-year or a 20-year host. Stability is one of the show’s strengths, so we need to consider who’s got a 20-year horizon and who can focus on the show and make it great over that time." Richards also discussed how he ended up filling in as guest-host: "As for me hosting, I was never meant to be a part of that process — I was just meant to manage — but COVID had other plans," he said. "Sony will ask me how people are in the studio and how their days on set went so I will be part of that conversation but there’s a bigger group of stakeholders who will weigh in. My job is really to make everyone really good at this. The shoot days are brutal, because teaching someone the show is intense. We give everything we can to them to let them shine and then we serve it up."
• Jeopardy! incorrectly defined the term “sleet" on Wednesday's show, perpetuating a meteorological misinterpretation and leaving weather folks out in the cold