It’s three years since Ken Jennings stepped up to become Jeopardy! host (along with the since-departed Mayim Bialik) and faced the seemingly impossible task of succeeding the late, much-loved Alex Trebek.
After a period of sharing hosting duties with Bialik, there is no doubt that Jennings has made the job his own. In fact, viewers seem to appreciate the fresh energy he has brought to Jeopardy! It’s a remarkable achievement for someone with little prior TV experience (aside from being the greatest-ever contestant on the very show he now hosts).
There is no doubt that Ken has his quirks, like the way he gets holier-than-thou after a triple-stumper, or his sometimes awkward reaction to things that happen or are said during the show. But Ken offers empathy during the interview segments, witty add-ons to clues, and an unwavering ability to preside over the most fast-paced specials like Jeopardy! Masters. He has proved himself to be the best person for the job, even though show bosses initially chose Mike Richards over him (or perhaps then-EP Richards chose himself) after months of having guest hosts.
That said, viewers can be hard on Jennings, but as it turns out, he’s even harder on himself. Show bosses have been revealing what Ken is like behind the scenes, noting how he will request pickups (re-shoots) even when the production crew think he did a good job.
The revelation was shared on the latest Inside Jeopardy! podcast on Monday, October 28 co-hosted by Executive Producer Michael Davies, longtime producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss, and (now retired) champion Sam Buttrey.
They played a previously unaired audience Q&A in which someone asked Jennings if he felt he had a “perfect show” if he didn’t have to do any pickups. The answer was a resounding no.
“I think there have been shows where I don’t do any pickups and it certainly existed for Alex who routinely didn’t have to do any pickups. But I think even in that case I would not be satisfied, you know?” Jennings shared to the audience.
“I’d think ‘agh the interviews could be a little funnier’ or ‘I could have read that clue more crisply.’ I’m a little hard on myself but you guys are seeing how the doughnuts are made, that’s not the expression, how the sausage is made!” he quipped, seemingly doing a mini-pickup in a meta-style joke (Jennings likely knows the expression).
“Ken is such a mensch,” show boss Davies shared after the clip. “We’ll come to him at the end of a round and say, ‘pick up this, this, and this’ and he will add pickups where he didn’t think that he read it [a clue] to his quality or standard. He’ll add pickups to his own list.”
“He is his toughest critic,” Foss shared. “And often times when we’re like ‘that was great,’ [He’ll say] ‘uh, wasn’t my best,’ he always wants to be better. That’s the great quality in him as a host.”
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Earlier this month, fans dedicated a thread in the Jeopardy! Reddit forum to give Jennings some props, as he regularly gets blamed for controversial rulings (which are up to the judges).
It was titled, “Ken Jennings,” and the OP continued: “After watching him host for some time now, a can’t imagine the host NOT being Ken. (Art Fleming -> Alex Trebek -> Ken Jennings).”
“Agreed,” another fan replied. “I loved Alex as host and consider myself unfathomably fortunate to have gotten to play during his era. But Ken is absolutely killing it, and we’re lucky to have him.”
“Ken is the living embodiment of Jeopardy!” wrote a third. “With the amount of tomfoolery in the search for the next host I’m glad they landed on the right choice.”
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