Mike Richards and Mayim Bialik are the new hosts of Jeopardy

JEOPARDY! fans have been awaiting news regarding who was going to replace the late Alex Trebeck who hosted the daily syndicated quiz show from 1984 until his death in 2020. Trebeck replaced Art Fleming who was the host on NBC and syndicated versions from 1964 to 1975, and 1978 to 1979,. In a stunning move that no one saw coming there are now two faces that will be associated with the popular program.

Sony Pictures Television announced on Wednesday that a new chapter has begun for the long-running show. Mike Richards the executive producer of the iconic show will be the daily host and actress Mayim Bialik will host franchise spinoffs beginning with the JEOPARDY! NATIONAL COLLEGE CHAMPIONSHIPS which will air on ABC. The decision to hire Richards and Bialik ended months of speculation as to who would take over the helm after Alex Trebek passed away on November 20, of last year.

Ravi Ahuja, chairman of Global Television Studios and Corporate Development for Sony Pictures, stated that this has been a long and deliberate process in choosing who would Trebek. There were more than a dozen people who were being considered including celebrities and former contestants who had been guest hosts during the interim. Both Bialik and Richards were among the group.

Mayim Bialik, 45, said that her teenage son was the first person to bring up the idea of her being a guest host. The actress is well known because she starred on NBC’s BLOSSOM during the 1990s as a teen and as an adult, she was on the CBS series THE BIG BANG THEORY between 2010 and 2019. won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2015 and 2017 and garnered 4 Emmy nominations for Best-Supporting actress in a comedy series while on the show.

Mayim’s resume was said to be one of the most diverse of any of the guest hosts on JEOPARDY! In addition to acting she graduated from UCLA with a bachelor's and also a doctorate degree in neuroscience. In a statement, Bialik said: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to join the 'Jeopardy!' family,” Bialik said in a statement. “What started out with my 15-year-old repeating a rumor from Instagram that I should guest host the show has turned into one of the most exciting and surreal opportunities of my life."

Mike Richards, 46, replaced executive producer Harry Friedman last year. Richards previously was the second host of BEAUTY AND THE GEEK and has produced a number of game shows, including WEAKEST LINK. He was also the executive producer of LET'S MAKE A DEAL and THE PRICE IS RIGHT until the end of the 2018–19 season. Richards was being considered as a host for THE PRICE IS RIGHT prior to Drew Carey being chosen.

Richards was the host of GSN's 2012 revival of THE PYRAMID and also the network's 2016–17 version of DIVIDEND. He left both shows in 2019 when he began working for SONY PICTURES TELEVISION where he became an executive producer of WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE alongside host Jimmy Kimmel and Michael Davies during the 2019–20 first season. Richards served as JEOPADY! host from Feb. 22 until March 5.

In a statement, he says d he was “ deeply honored” to host the syndicated version of the quiz show. He added: “Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined being chosen to step into a role of this magnitude. I am incredibly humbled to step behind the lectern and will work tirelessly to make sure our brilliant contestants shine in each and every episode."