Mike Richards apologizes to the staffs of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune as Sony TV promises more diversity

Deadline

Richards was accompanied by Sony's top TV executive Ravi Ahuja, Chairman of Sony Global Television Studios, at Monday morning's virtual meetings with the Jeopardy! and Wheel staffs. While Richards stepped down as host of Jeopardy!, Sony TV said he would continue in his role as executive producer of both shows. "Yet," reports Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, "multiple Jeopardy! staffers who attended the meeting said that had expected for him to step down as EP as the show is restarting the search for a permanent host. Mayim Bialik, named earlier this month as host of the Jeopardy! primetime and spinoff series, will fill in as host of the mothership syndicated program for at least the next three weeks. After pausing production on Friday, following Richards’ abrupt exit as host, taping on the syndicated Jeopardy! will resume later this week. In light of the revelations about Richards’ offensive comments, Sony is assembling teams to work on increasing inclusivity, it was announced at the meetings. Ahuja stressed how seriously the studio is taking the issue and illustrated his personal commitment with a story about growing up as a Sikh in Mississippi in 1970s where he was exposed to racially insensitive comments. I hear the goal of the meetings was to get everyone together and boost the morale which had taken a major hit following the controversies involving Richards and a first Jeopardy! host search whose integrity has been questioned after it was won by the show’s EP. While there are some encouraging signs, judging by post-meeting reactions, regrouping and moving forward would likely be a long and difficult process."

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• It's obvious Sony wanted and still wants a white guy to host Jeopardy!: "My guess is they never wanted a person of color," says Melanie McFarland. "Mayim Bialik may have clinched the primetime and specials hosting gig – which, according to Newsweek, also upset some fans – but from the time that was announced it seemed like a consolation hire. This is said with full acknowledgment that Bialik gave a splendid guest host performance. But given the fact that she was one of four women out of a list of 16, and the other three are newscasters, it was obvious what Sony wanted and for the time being, still wants: another white guy. If that weren't true, Richards wouldn't still be serving as executive producer of Jeopardy! with Sony's blessing, backed by their Sen. Susan Collins-flavored assurance that he's learned his lesson. 'Mike has been with us for the last two years and has led the Jeopardy! team through the most challenging time the show has ever experienced,' its official statement reads. 'It is our hope that as EP he will continue to do so with professionalism and respect.' But if you were a woman or a person of color, would you take that on faith? Would you trust your job to the guy who originally wanted it, had it, and then was forced to give it up due to bad press? No. You. Would. Not. Too many cautionary tales are floating around in the entertainment industry – or, heck, on Glassdoor or Reddit – about how such scenarios doomed the suckers invited to such Elysian Fields only to be presented with a cliff."
• The Ringer's Claire McNear's journalism saved Jeopardy! from an unworthy host after an utter failure of corporate vetting: McNear did basic vetting and basic reporting with her bombshell story last week, says The Washington Post media critic Margaret Sullivan. Richards saying that previous discrimination lawsuits naming him when he worked on The Price is Right didn't reflect who he was prompted McNear to a deep dive to find out if his statement was true. “It set me on the path of looking into who he is,” she said on CNN. Meanwhile, McNear's reporting begs the question why Sony couldn't have its human-resource staffers do similar vetting.
• Ranking TV's shortest hosting stints: Mike Richards joins Conan O'Brien and Ann Curry in losing a coveted job after a short period of time