JEOPARDY! fans were left buzzing over the news that Ken Jennings will be returning this Friday, March 10.
Many viewers have made it no secret they prefer his hosting style over that of Mayim Bialik.
ABCKen Jennings is returning to Jeopardy! this Friday, March 10[/caption]
ABCHe will host until the end of April, at which point Mayim Bialik will return for the rest of the season[/caption]
Mayim, 47 is hosting the three-week-long High School Reunion Tournament which ends on Thursday.
Ken, 48, has been off and legions of fans have been waiting to come back for the syndicated game show.
Plenty of pointed viewers have not been satisfied with Mayim’s hosting style compared to the 74-time champ who just keeps things rolling and lives and breathes all things Jeopardy!.
They won’t have to wait much longer, as he will be back on fans’ TV screens on March 10.
‘SO PLEASED TO HEAR IT’
As the dutiful Twitter account @IsKenJenningsHostingThis Week posted: “Ken Jennings will return to host Jeopardy! this Fri., 3/10 and will continue through 4/28 for what is expected to be his last hosting stint of the syndicated shows in Season 39.
He will also host ‘Masters’ in primetime later this year—airdates still TBA.”
One fan replied: “We are very much looking forward to Ken returning to host Jeopardy!”
Another wrote: “YES! So pleased to hear it, my wife and I can begin watching again.”
A third unabashedly replied in displeasure that Mayim will be hosting for four months after Ken’s 1.5-month return: “Oh dear, much Mayim to endure, which feels like being forced to hang out with front row girl from class.”
A fourth simply wrote: “I really wish it were all Ken, all the time. I like him.”
A fifth defended: “That’s good. Mix it up. The masses will go for Mayim the more they get. How do you think Alex got popular?”
While a sixth replied: “Not a fan of the shared hosting in general. I find it kind of disruptive.”
KEEPING BUSY
A Twitter user asked recently asked Ken what he does when he is not hosting, and he had a classic response.
Ken quoted the tweet and joked: “I go into one of those freezer cases from the Alien movies when Mayim is hosting, and vice versa.”
However, Ken did give a real glimpse as to what he gets up to when he isn’t hosting; he tweeted last week: “My new book comes out in June!”
The star explained that 100 Places To See After You Die is “a travel guide to the afterlife, from ancient Egypt, all the way up to The Good Place.”
He concluded: “So you might want to order it soon, just in case.”
Fans were all about the new book as one person reacted: “What a clever idea. I had pretty much decided on a cornfield in Iowa, but it’s always nice to shop around.”
Another added: “How exciting! Congratulations,” while one said, “Congrats! On another note, don’t know what’s going on with Jeopardy! lately but you are the perfect replacement for Alex Trebek…”
MIXED ON MAYIM’S TOURNAMENT
Currently airing is the 14-episode High School Reunion Tournament featuring 27 former Teen Tournament contestants who first duked it out in 2018 and 2019.
The event is now in the semi-finals, and the eventual winner on Thursday will get $100,000 and a slot in the 2023 Tournament of Champions.
On Reddit, a fan recently penned a thread where the consensus was that the special event is just too long.
A user began their thread: “So now the special tournaments are stretched out to 3+ weeks? This is taking away opportunities for regular people to get their chance to play Jeopardy.”
Someone else replied: “I just think it’s too long.”
Another looming and quantifiable issue now that Mayim is back is her cadence; namely, her pause when deeming a contestant correct on nearly every clue.
Mayim’s “that is…correct” pause is driving fans up the wall and they don’t understand if she’s adding suspense or just looking to check her clue sheet for nearly every question.
Last year, Amy Schneider and Mattea Roach stated in interviews they prefer Ken given he went from its winningest contestant to host, as did recent divisive three-day champ Jake Dearruda slamming her as “inconsistent.”
The energy in the room seems to be that the sitcom star with no notable past ties to Jeopardy is doing perfectly well on specials like Celebrity Jeopardy!, former champion Pam Mueller recently told The U.S. Sun she should stick to that.
Ken will still be on-air for a bit hosting the new Jeopardy! Masters spinoff, which is scheduled to air during the spring in primetime on ABC.
YouTube/Jeopardy!One shameless fan tweeted over the news: ‘I can begin watching again’ and another wrote: ‘I wish it were Ken all the time’[/caption]
ABCKen will return after Mayim Bialik’s currently airing 3-week tournament which some haters have deemed just plain long[/caption]
TwitterThe largely preferred TV host joked on Twitter that when he’s not hosting he goes into an Alien freezer case[/caption]
