KEN Jennings is ‘working toward’ a bigger role on Jeopardy! and ‘knows what he wants’ for the future of the franchise, The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal.
The beloved host of the trivia game show was tapped to replace the late Alex Trebek in 2020, and while their main roles appear to be the same, there are big differences in how each of them has been credited.
Before he passed away in 2020 at the age of 80, Alex hosted Jeopardy! beginning with its revival all the way back in 1984.
In addition to being the host, Alex was also credited as a producer of the series for 620 episodes.
He maintained a producer title from when he joined in 1984 until 1987, when he was forced to give up the credit to begin hosting another game show, Classic Concentration.
While he continued to host Jeopardy!, his involvement with other game shows led Alex to have to forfeit his producer credit on the series.
After a few years of Ken, 51, leading the program with universally rave reviews, the trivia buff now has his eyes set on a bigger role.
A production insider told The U.S. Sun, “Ken is feeling more comfortable than ever in his role as host.
“He reads over clues the night before and practices the pronunciation of the words the night before, and if there are any questions or concerns, he comes in first thing in the morning to clear it up with producers.
“And he’s had fewer questions; he seems to just know exactly what he’s doing and what he wants.”
The source added that his confidence has led him to want an even bigger role within the show, “If anything, now he’ll be the one making suggestions or tweaking things.
“So much so that he’d like to get more involved as a producer and be a force in that producer role.
“He knows he’d be great at it, but is hesitant to step on any toes. He really is the nicest guy on the set. He’s only been a full-time host for less than 3 years, so he’s still relatively new.
“But he’s definitely headed down that path. His goal is to follow in Alex Trebek’s footsteps and earn a producer title.”
The insider added that the goal still “seems a bit down the road,” but that’s what Ken is “now working toward.”
KEN DO ATTITUDE!
Ken will be back to hosting Jeopardy!’s season 42, which premieres on Monday, September 8th.
As The U.S. Sun previously reported, major shifts are in store for fans, but a controversial part of the show will remain the same.
A series insider told The U.S. Sun, “The show has some changes in the works to jazz up season 42.
“No one is jumping the shark, the format and all that, the heart of the show, will be the same.
“But there will be new set pieces and, unfortunately for the fans, there will be some, perhaps even an increase, in sponsored categories.
“Producers know that’s not popular with fans, and quite frankly, a lot of the production team doesn’t like it either.
“But it’s part of the game. It helps with revenue and cross promotion so it is what it is.”
In recent Jeopardy! seasons, sponsored categories have sporadically popped up within the game.
These sponsored categories are often videos of celebrities reading off the clue, instead of the typical process of host Ken saying them.
In late July, season 41 of Jeopardy! concluded with a bang after Scott Riccardi had his 16-game winning streak crushed by Jonathan Hugendubler in a shocking finale.
The end of the season marked the rare occasion where new Jeopardy! episodes took a hiatus from airing – though that will change when the show returns on Monday, September 8th.
