(Last week, The New York Times reported that Richards вЂњ moved aside after he emerged as a candidate.вЂќ) And while some disappointment was probably inevitable at the end of a guest host rotation that featured names ranging from LeVar Burton and Aaron Rodgers to Robin Roberts and Savannah Guthrie, the decision to promote Richards-an internal candidate who was relatively unknown to the general public-has sparked more backlash than the show might have anticipated. RichardsвЂ™s selection has been met with criticism by Jeopardy! fans and former contestants alike, many of whom have questioned the validity of a prolonged and high-profile audition process that ended with the ascension of someone once tasked with leading it. He alone will fill the role long held by Alex Trebek. Actress Mayim Bialik will host prime-time tournaments, but the nightly job belongs to Richards. On August 11, parent studio Sony Pictures Television announced that the 46-year-old will become the showвЂ™s new permanent host, just 15 months after he was named its executive producer. Now, though, Richards has gotten on Jeopardy!, albeit on the other side of the stage. I donвЂ™t have that kind of mind.вЂќ Later in the episode, after Jennings joined, Richards went further: вЂњIf I had gotten on Jeopardy!-well, I never would have gotten on Jeopardy!, letвЂ™s be square,вЂќ he said. вЂњIt doesnвЂ™t even matter if itвЂ™s a specific area I should know.

вЂњSee, what I am is horrible at all trivia,вЂќ Richards said.

Richards, meanwhile, was backstage at The Price Is Right, the show he had joined as a coвЂ“executive producer five years earlier, and where that May he had launched a podcast called The Randumb Show, which was promoted to listeners as a look behind the scenes at Price.Д«efore he called Jennings to record a segment on the podcast, Richards put a question to his cohost. One day in the fall of 2013, Mike Richards called Ken Jennings.ДЄt the time, Jennings was nearly a decade removed from the 74-game Jeopardy! winning streak that had made him a household name. Update, August 20: Mike Richards has stepped down as the host of Jeopardy! According to a statement provided by Sony, the studio вЂњwill now resume the search for a permanent syndicated host.вЂќ

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