Mike Richards briefly became Jeopardy! host by taking advantage of an institutional and power vacuum

Vulture

Sony Pictures Television used to be prepared for the loss of Alex Trebek as host of Jeopardy! In fact, Sony TV chairman Steve Mosko kept a list of who might one day succeed Trebek. "His plan was to make sure Jeopardy!’s exec producer at the time, the legendary Harry Friedman, would not have to start the search process from scratch," says Josef Adalian. "This effort almost surely intensified after Trebek suffered a heart attack in 2012 and began broaching the subject of retirement during interviews. But Mosko left Sony in 2016, and his institutional knowledge of the Jeopardy! business walked out with him." Sony ended up with the kind of executives who weren't experienced in shepherding TV shows, including CEO Tony Vinciquerra, who spent his career in operations, sales and distribution roles. In 2020, Friedman, who oversaw Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune for more than two decades, stepped down as executive producer. Mike Richards succeeded him amid the pandemic. So, says Adalian, "the folks charged with running the search for Trebek’s replacement did not have the same depth of experience and understanding of the franchise as Friedman or past Sony execs....In addition to this power vacuum in the Sony exec ranks, as the Ringer’s Claire McNear reported in her definitive story last week, there was a similar leadership void at the show itself: Not only was Friedman gone, but Jeopardy! also lost a couple of key on-set staff members, and many folks worked remotely during the pandemic. You couldn’t script a more perfect scenario for a newbie such as Richards to seize control of the host-replacement process and engineer it so he emerged with the job." Adalian adds: "But why did nobody at the studio ever think to bring Friedman into the process? I get why Richards didn’t reach out: It’s clear he has coveted a big-time hosting gig for years, and he (rightly or wrongly) figured Friedman would not agree....Vinciquerra and his underlings should have realized their collective lack of experience regarding all things Jeopardy! (including its quasi-spiritual connection to its audience) might be a problem. It’s possible they figured Richards, whose tenure as EP of The Price Is Right and Let’s Make a Deal saw both shows thrive creatively, possessed all the game-show gravitas they needed. Or maybe they simply believed that focus groups and data-filled spreadsheets would be their salvation — that a new host could be chosen the same way Netflix decided to green-light two seasons of House of Cards based on metrics showing its subscribers liked Kevin Spacey movies. But whether due to hubris or negligence, not involving the man who helped shape the modern-day incarnation of Jeopardy! cost the replacement search some much-needed legitimacy...Most inexcusable, perhaps, is Sony announcing that Richards will stay on as Jeopardy! executive producer, and, presumably, oversee the search for Trebek’s replacement once again. 'It is our hope that as EP he will continue to (lead Jeopardy!) with professionalism and respect,' the studio said last week in a statement accepting his resignation as host. This decision had industry insiders I spoke with incredulous. 'Why would they let history repeat itself by putting the guy who manipulated the first process in charge of the second one?' one source said. A half-dozen or so observers I’ve talked with in recent days think it’s a given that Richards will be sacked as EP, and that the delay is just about settling his contract. But even if so, Sony has already done further damage to the show’s brand by not moving decisively."

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• Cancel culture is ruining Jeopardy!: "Social media's venomous reaction to (Mike) Richards' casting lacked any sense of proportion, with many people apoplectic at the idea that a generic-looking white person had beaten out prospective hosts of color like former Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton, Twitter's runaway favorite choice," says Robby Soave, adding: "Barely acknowledged in (The Ringer) article, or by the online critics, is the fact that Richards was undeniably compelling in the role. He read the clues with skill, rarely stumbling, and he inserted just the right amount of quick, additional commentary. That was (Alex) Trebek's talent: finding the correct rhythm, and only pausing to interject a short remark when the situation really called for it. It's a skill that (Mayim) Bialik also has in spades, which is why the network's eventual selections aren't actually that surprising. Richards and Bialik were the two guest hosts who really nailed it, so they won."
• Twitter users are divided over Mayim Bialik, pointing to her controversial past comments on C-sections, vaccines and Harvey Weinstein victims
• LeVar Burton said "no comment" when TMZ asked him about the Mike Richards debacle
• Jeopardy!'s hosting search failure is a lesson in hiring biases