Ken Jennings Didn’t Know His ‘Jeopardy!’ Hosting Return Would Air On Anniversary of Alex Trebek’s Death

Jeopardy! icon Ken Jennings returned to host the ABC quiz show on Monday, which also happened to be the one-year anniversary of longtime host Alex Trebek’s death. But in a new interview with USA Today, Jennings revealed that he wasn’t aware of this coincidence beforehand.

“Apparently everyone was aware that we were going to air [my first episode] on the anniversary and nobody told me,” he said. “They didn’t want to put that in my head. So, I was not told until after that it was the Nov. 8 show.”

Jennings admitted he was “terrified” when he first filled in for the beloved host. “I knew that it was going to be a very difficult task … much less the idea that you’re trying to step into the shoes of Alex Trebek, which is impossible,” he added. “This time, we’re kind of a year removed or more from all that, so I’ve had every possible emotion now.”

This week, the Jeopardy! champion took over the podium for Mayim Bialik, who hosted Jeopardy! for seven consecutive weeks following Mike Richards’ controversial exit as host.

“I miss Alex a lot,” Jennings said in a clip shared to Jeopardy!’s Twitter account. “When I’m in here, I feel like he’s probably in the building somewhere. It’s hard not to talk about him in the present tense. The first day I came in to guest host was just a few weeks after Alex passed, and it was a really rough time. I got to the studio and one of the producers handed me a little box. Alex’s wife, Jean, ad given me a pair of cufflinks that he had wore on the show.”

Jennings and Bialik are set to split hosting duties for the rest of 2021 based on their schedules. Stay tuned for more updates on Jeopardy!‘s future host.

Jeopardy! airs weeknights on ABC at 7/6c.

Where to watch Jeopardy!