How Many People Have Hosted Jeopardy!? More Than You Think

Generations of trivia buffs have made "Jeopardy!" a regular part of their weekday TV viewing. Dozens of other game shows have come and gone, and others have changed over the years, but apart from some cosmetic set upgrades and digital game boards, "Jeopardy!" has retained the same answer-in-the-form-of-a-question format since its inception. Some of the biggest changes to the iconic show over the years have been the hosts — and you might be surprised to learn that five different people have manned the podium for extended periods of time throughout the show's history. 

The host everyone remembers most fondly, of course, is Alex Trebek, whose heartbreaking death in 2020 left millions of fans teary-eyed. The genial Canadian performer had read thousands of answers to contestants of all backgrounds since 1984. But contrary to what you may think, Trebek wasn't the first person behind the microphone. "Jeopardy!" actually began back in 1964, with Art Fleming as the host. He led the show for 11 years, after which the daytime game was retired, though Flemming returned in 1978 to host a prime-time edition for one season. Five barren, question-less years later, producer Merv Griffin brought "Jeopardy!" back to life in its current nighttime syndicated version, with Trebek as the face of the show.

Trebek remained a fixture for the next three decades, not counting the one time in 1997 when he and Pat Sajak swapped places for an epic April Fool's Day episode.  His passing created a void that few thought could ever be filled, but producers were determined that the show would go on with a new host. Not wanting to rush the decision, though, they picked a rotating series of guest hosts before finally settling on a permanent one ... and then another ... and then another.

"Jeopardy!" producers wanted to make sure that Alex Trebek's successor was sharp and personable, but not a spotlight-grabber, so they came up with a lot of options. The rotating series of 16 guest hosts included two former show champions: Ken Jennings (who's received one of the biggest "Jeopardy!" payouts so far) and Buzzy Cohen, as well as Mayim Bialik, Anderson Cooper, Aaron Rodgers, Savannah Guthrie, and Katie Couric, among others. One guest host in particular, LeVar Burton, had hoped to host "Jeopardy!" for years, and thousands of fans even created a petition toward that end. On the other end of the spectrum, Dr. Mehmet Oz was a guest host who had "Jeopardy!" viewers seeing red; they felt his rep for promoting unproven health products didn't mesh with the show's gravitas.

In a move that surprised fans, Executive Producer Mike Richards was finally chosen as the new permanent host of "Jeopardy!" after his test run among the other guest hosts. But after only two weeks on the job, Richards left after unsavory allegations about his past behavior came to light. As a solution, Bialik and Jennings were hired as co-permanent hosts of the quiz show, alternating episodes. The arrangement worked for two years, but in 2023, producers opted to drop Bialik. In a statement released to People, a spokesperson said the switch to just Jennings as the host was made "to maintain continuity for our viewers," though the network left the door open for Bialik to host primetime versions.

Jennings, who holds the "Jeopardy!" record for most consecutive games won, has hosted the show solo ever since. Filling Trebek's shoes (or mustache) is a huge undertaking, but Jennings is doing all right for himself: He's been nominated for the Outstanding Game Show Host Primetime Emmy award four times.