It sounds like Ken Jennings might get it, but LeVar (IMHO) has a more engaging personality (and really expressive eyes, which would add a different and new spin on the show...) He'd make the show his own very quickly and it's just easier picturing LeVar being the host. IMHO, anyway. (All that is not to slag Ken in the slightest and it's sorta easy to see why he'd be a contender too...)
Ok, the guest-hosting thing I thought was a wild idea I didn't think they'd actually go for, but it seems I called it. I think no matter what, they'll have Ken stay as an advisor. I think LeVar Burton would possibly have an interesting side-effect of him being able to lull contestants into a false sense of security with his calm demeanor before revealing wrong answers to them.
Ok, so I've read his book and apparently it happened very differently, and early on. As he tells it, they came to him when they wanted to revive the show as part of syndication package with Wheel of Fortune. He knew Merv was stingy when it came to pay and asked him, I'm assuming jokingly as he'd been stiffed before by a previous game show, if he'd be paid. Merv said yes, but Alex had also asked him if he could be producer for the first three seasons in order to be paid more. He'd already made quite a reputation for himself by the time Jeopardy came along, but it's easy to see how his long tenure would have given that impression of it happening later. Merv was apparently more fond of Wheel and was happy to just let Alex produce Jeopardy. And he continued to have a good rapport with the writers where he could suggest anything and come up with ideas. In that light, I could see them offering the new host producer duties for the first few years, as I think it could be beneficial as part of a transition to the new personality. Anyway, I highly recommend his book. It was a good read.
It's going to be Ken Jennings. They're going to have interim hosts to make it look like they didn't make this decision a year ago.
I don't know, I still they could end up surprising us. Maybe they'll come to realize he's not the best when it comes to hosting. He might make a good champion and producer, but might not be the best fit to host. A talk show I watch fairly regularly had one of its hosts suddenly leave the show. Instead of replacing him right away, they had guest-hosting via former guests on the show and they went on like this for over a year before they announced their selection. During that period, it not only kept things more interesting, it allowed producers to see who out of their possible candidates worked best before finalizing their decision. In the end, out of the candidates, they went with the decision of going with someone who already had experience in the industry.
The host is everything, a good host can take a mediocre show and make it great, and Jeopardy needs a good charismatic, thoughtful host. Levar would be good at it.
I agree. Levar's personality makes him a great fit for the job. If he ever gets to host a few episodes, I hope I get to watch them.
And that is inherently why Jeopardy was so successful under Alex Trebek, because of his charisma, and not just because of his knowledge. The show absolutely thrived under him.
Jennings will probably stay on behind the scenes, but if he doesn't hit it out of the park while hosting, I'm sure he respects the show too much to want to stay on permanently.
Yea. I like him and John Michael Higgins from America Says. He seems to have a good personality and does a good job hosting.
They've said he's on as producer at the very least, so even if he isn't the face of it, he'll be behind the scenes in some capacity.