‘Danger!’ presenter Ken Jennings remembers thinking ‘I don’t want to be here’ during the first show
Ken Jennings had a moment while hosting “Jeopardy!” when he no longer wanted to be part of the show.
During the 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 with the grief and mourning he and the show’s staff were experiencing over the loss of Trebek.
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Ken Jennings’ worst moment on “Jeopardy!” he was when he took over for Alex Trebek. (Getty Images)
“Everyone there was very emotional and I had to be the one to talk about it, even though I probably knew him the least out of the 100 people on the set, the crew and the staff. It was very scary. You know the audience doesn’t want you there , they want another guy, and I’m like, ‘I wouldn’t give anything not to be here right now,'” Jennings told the outlet.
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“Danger!” showrunner Michael Davies told Rolling Stone that the original plan after Trebek’s death was to rotate several hosts to run the show, but Jennings stood out from the potential candidates.
“They’re like me, they want that other guy, and I missed him too. I say, ‘I don’t want to be here. I’d give anything not to be here right now.'”
Alex Trebek was the host of “Jeopardy!” from 1984 to 2020. (AP)
“I saw the look the contestants would have when he came on stage. Or his ease with the material,” Davies said. “I remember at one point somebody buzzed and got the answer wrong, and they said, ‘Who’s Gainsborough?’ And he said, ‘Oh, no, I’m sorry, that’s Gainsborough’s great rival,’ and he named some other obscure artist. It was just a moment, [but] who but Ken Jennings could have that moment?”
In 2021, Jennings and Mayim Bialik were named as the show’s new permanent hosts. In December 2023, Bialik announced that she had been fired from her job.
Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik shared hosting duties on “Jeopardy!” after Trebek’s death. (FOX via Getty Images)
Jennings also said he discussed the idea of taking over the game show with Trebek, saying the first time he talked to him was about recording a portion of his audio book, which was released in 2020.
“That was the first time I talked to him [about] passing the torch, and even that was kind of unspoken,” Jennings said.
Jennings’ career with “Danger!” started 20 years ago as a competitor. Over the course of 74 consecutive games, Jennings won more than $2.5 million.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, he reflected on the future of “Jeopardy!” and said the game has the power to “unite” people.
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Ken Jennings won $2.5 million as a contestant on “Jeopardy!” (Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images)
“‘Danger!’ it’s a weird unifying thing,” Jennings said. “Young people, old people, red states, blue states — it’s an institution that has this universal acceptance. Whatever the forces of anti-science and fake news and whatever they are, they seem to have a thing for ‘Jeopardy!’ Maybe because it’s a game?”
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“This is a place where no one says, ‘Why are you doing a category about dinosaurs? Dinosaurs aren’t real.’ Or, ‘Why do you mention the moon landing?’ For any reason, ‘Danger!’ He seems to be immune to it, and maybe that’s a good sign,” he concluded.
