Jeopardy! has been hosted by neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta for the last two weeks, but his time as host is coming to an end.
The medic is the last of the celebrity guest hosts to do a two week stint, with the five remaining hosts all set to do a week each from now until the game show's season ends in August.
At that point, we expect to know who will become the permanent replacement for the late Alex Trebek.
Who Is the Next 'Jeopardy!' Guest Host After Sanjay Gupta?
After Gupta's last episode airs on Friday, July 9, the new host will pick up the mantle from Monday, July 12.
That presenter will be George Stephanopoulos, former White House communications director under Bill Clinton and co-anchor of Good Morning America, alongside Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan. He will present for five editions of the show between July 12 and 16.
Roberts is getting a stint as the Jeopardy! guest host too. She will follow her colleague and host from July 19 to 23.
The full line-up of remaining Jeopardy! hosts is as follows:
- George Stephanopoulos: July 12-16
- Robin Roberts: July 19-23
- LeVar Burton: July 26-30
- David Faber: August 2-6
- Joe Buck: August 9-13
Though some presenters of the show like Savannah Guthrie have said that they took the guest host job as a tribute to Trebek and have no interest in the permanent job, The Wrap reported in November 2020 that Stephanopoulos was lobbying for the job via his agent.
This was reported on November 9, 2020, the day after Trebek's death from pancreatic cancer at the age of 80.
In May 2020, Howard Stern asked Stephanopoulos about whether he would take the job when Trebek died. He would not answer directly, but did say, "I think it would be a lot of fun, but I like what I'm doing too. I am not going to be Shermanesque about it. It's a great show. It's very flattering. Big shoes to fill." Stern replied by joking that the news anchor was "dancing on Alex Trebek's grave."
Bookies.com is the most recent odds making website to report on the odds of who will become the permanent host. Ken Jennings currently leads their list, with the former champion scoring highest in total across four criteria: Social engagement, viewer sentiment, TV ratings and media coverage. Aaron Rodgers is just trailing him, followed by show producer Mike Richards.
Consumer polling company Civic Science conducted a poll at the end of May that also had Jennings as the top choice, followed by Rodgers. This poll also asked respondents which of the upcoming hosts they thought would make the best permanent host. LeVar Burton topped this list with 25 percent, while Stephanopoulos was unable to crack the top five.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
