'Jeopardy!' Welcomes Katie Couric, Aaron Rodgers, Bill Whitaker and Mayim Bialik as Guest Hosts

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'Jeopardy!' GOAT Ken Jennings is the show's first guest-host in the post Alex Trebek era, followed by executive producer Mike Richards

Jeopardy! GOAT Ken Jennings is game show's first guest host after the death of Alex Trebek.
Jeopardy! GOAT Ken Jennings is game show's first guest host after the death of Alex Trebek. (Image credit: Jeopardy!)

Jeopardy!’s next round of guest hosts include Katie Couric, Aaron Rodgers, Bill Whitaker and Mayim Bialik after the game’s Greatest of All Time Ken Jennings took the first tour of duty January 11-15.  A donation will be made to the charity of each guest host’s choice, equaling the cumulative winnings of the contestants that compete during the weeks they host.

In total, Jennings taped 30 episodes so he’s expected to host the show over the course of six weeks. 

Also Read: Final Trebek Episodes of Jeopardy! to Air Jan. 4-8

“Sharing this stage with Alex Trebek was one of the greatest honors of my life," Jennings said on Monday’s episode after he was introduced by the show’s long-time announcer Johnny Gilbert. "Not many things in life are perfect, but Alex did this job pretty much perfectly for more than 36 years. And it was even better up close. We were dazzled by his intelligence, his charm, his grace – really, there's no other word for it."

After Jennings’ run, executive producer Mike Richards will host the show for two weeks before the next round of guest hosts take their turns. Jeopardy!, which is produced by Sony Pictures Television and distributed by CBS Media Ventures, aired the final five episodes of original host Alex Trebek’s run Jan. 4-8 after Trebek passed away on Nov. 8 at 80 of pancreatic cancer.

Couric will be Jeopardy!’s first-ever female host. Besides being the former anchor of NBC’s Today and CBS Evening News, Couric also is the founder of Katie Couric Media, which creates the daily Wake-Up Call newsletter as well as documentaries, digital and series and podcasts.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Rodgers is a Super Bowl MVP and nine-time NFL Pro Bowl selection. He’s also a Celebrity Jeopardy! champion, after competing on the program in 2015.

60 Minutes’ correspondent Bill Whitaker has worked as a journalist for CBS News for four decades. In 2018, he was awarded the RTNDA’s Paul White Award for career achievement.

Mayim Bialik is currently starring on and executive producing Fox’s Call Me Kat after a long run as Amy Farrah Fowler on CBS’ The Big Bang Theory. She also hosts her own podcast on mental health titled, “Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown.”

Additional guest hosts will be announced later in the season.

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.