‘Jeopardy!’ host Ken Jennings remembers thinking ‘I don’t want to be here’ during first show

nypost.com:

hosting “Jeopardy!” when he didn’t want to be a part of the show anymore.During an interview with Rolling Stone, Jennings admitted that when he was asked to take over for Alex Trebek after his death in 2020, he wasn’t worried about his first episode.He was more concerned about the grief and mourning he and the show’s staff were experiencing over the loss of Trebek.“Everybody there was very emotional, and I had to be the one talking through it, even though I probably knew him least of all 100 people on set, crew and the staff.

It was very scary. You’re aware that the audience does not want you there. They’re like me, they want the other guy, and I was missing him too.

I’m like, ‘I don’t want to be here. I would give anything to not be here right now,’” Jennings told the outlet.“Jeopardy!” showrunner Michael Davies told Rolling Stone that the original plan after Trebek’s passing was to rotate among several hosts to helm the show, but Jennings stood out from the potential candidates. “I saw the look that the contestants would have when he’d walk out on the stage.

Or his facility with the material,” Davies said. “I remember at one point, somebody buzzed in and gave the wrong response, and they said, ‘Who is Gainsborough?’ And he said, ‘Oh, no, I’m sorry, it’s Gainsborough’s great rival,’ and named some other obscure artist.