Sony Pictures Entertainment chose Alex Trebeck’s replacement on the television syndicated show “Jeopardy!” the right way.
It was not easy to replace the popular Trebeck, who hosted “Jeopardy!” for 37 years until he died of pancreatic cancer in November, 2020, at age 80. According to an ABC 13 news release, ‘Trebek had served as the host of the game show since its debut in daytime syndication in 1984.” And, “With more than 8,200 episodes under his belt, he holds the Guinness World Record for Most Game Show Episodes Hosted by the Same Presenter.” Also, during his years hosting “Jeopardy!,” Trebeck won seven Daytime Emmys and received a lifetime achievement Emmy award in 2011.
According to a New York Times August 14, article by Michael M. Greybaum and Nicole Sperling, Ken Jennings, the winningest “Jeopardy!” contestant ever, with a record 74 consecutive games, had been Mr. Trebek’s preferred successor by many fans of the show.
Greybaum and Sperling write:
After a cattle call of guest hosts, including Anderson Cooper, Robin Roberts, Aaron Rodgers, LeVar Burton and even Dr. Mehmet Oz, the announcement of the winner sent fans into a tailspin. The new weekday host would be Mike Richards, the show’s obscure executive producer and the man initially charged with finding Mr. Trebek’s replacement.
The choice of Mike Richards caused consternation among many “Jeopardy!” fans because they assumed that Ken Jennings was the obvious choice, and many other fans favored celebrities such as Anderson Cooper or LeVar Burton. However, Sony Picture Entertainment made the final decision with the right process. Here’s how the New York Times article described that process:
Sony said that while Mr. Richards initially led the hunt for Mr. Trebek’s replacement, he moved aside after he emerged as a candidate.
But as executive producer, Mr. Richards retained a key role in selecting which appearances by each prospective host would be screened for focus groups, whose reactions weighed heavily in Sony’s decision-making, according to three people familiar with the show’s internal deliberations. The other supervising “Jeopardy!” producers were excluded from that process, the people said.
Asked about Mr. Richards’s role, Sony referred to a memo from its TV chairman, Ravi Ahuja, who told staff that after the company began considering Mr. Richards as a potential host, “he was not part of” the selection process. The ultimate decision was made by Tony Vinciquerra, the chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
According to the Times article, Ken Jennings, the all-time “Jeopardy” champ, who is now a consulting producer for the show, said: “Mike was the only person up there with any game show hosting chops, and it showed.”
The Times article went on to report:
Some fans argue that a relatively bland, little-known host was always a better outcome than a celebrity. “The game is the star, and the contestants are the stars,” said John Podhoretz, the editor of Commentary magazine and a 1987 quarterfinalist in the “Jeopardy!” Tournament of Champions. “The host should be a secondary figure.”
For his part, Mr. Jennings agreed. “What was great about Alex was we didn’t know anything about him: He came into our homes every night and he hosted “Jeopardy,’” Mr. Jennings said. “Today, it’s very hard to find a broadcaster whose priors and opinions you know nothing about.”
The game was the star, not the host. That’s a we decision, not a me decision. The show, the team, the community comes first, not the individual.
Try to imagine what America, what the world would be like if politicians made we decisions instead of me decisions – did what was best for their constituents, their communities, and not what was best for them. Can you imagine Donald Trump or Florida governor Ron DeSantis making a we decision? Of course not.
We must hold our political leaders to the same decision-making process as Sony Pictures Entertainment used in choosing Mike Richards to replace Alex Trebeck: make a we decision, not a me decision.
