Jeopardy! excited to have Ken Jennings return to the game show after his hiatus

Jeopardy! fans rejoice as Ken Jennings returns to game show after hiatus and praises player on huge victory

JEOPARDY! host Ken Jennings has returned to the game show after a brief hiatus much to the delight of viewers.

Mayim Bialik, 47, took over hosting duties while the former Jeopardy! contestant hosted the High School Reunion Tournament spin-off series.

Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings returned to the game show on Friday after a brief hiatusCredit: NBC

Mayim Bialik took over hosting duties while Ken hosted the Tournament of Champions spin-off seriesCredit: YouTube/Jeopardy!
Ken, 48, was welcomed back to the Jeopardy! stage on Friday with a round of thunderous applause from the in-studio audience.

After thanking announcer Johnny Gilbert, 94, for the introduction and welcoming viewers to the show, the host turned his attention to the still-applauding audience.

Ken stated: “We hoped you all enjoyed the fantastic completion in our High School Reunion Tournament and today we wrap up the week with a familiar face.”

The 48-year-old then introduced the three-game champion from “regular Jeopardy!” Stephen Webb.

Stephen entered Friday’s competition with a total earned winnings of $80,631.

The data scientist was defending his title against attorney Nick Lauber and graduate student Jannette Peterson.

Stephen took an earlier lead and never let up, earning $4,600 by the first break with Jannette following close behind with $2,400 and Nick struggling in last with -$400.

By the time the contestants had reached Double Jeopardy, Nick had partially redeemed himself and was sitting at $1,000.

WILD GAME

Janette had lost ground but held onto earnings of $2,000.

And the current champ began to break away from the other two players as he had already won $8,200 by that point.

He continued to hold onto the lead throughout the remainder of the contest, ending the game with $20,250 in runaway fashion.

Now the four-day champion, Stephen’s winnings totaled $100,881 prompting praise from the highest-earning game show contestant, Ken.

Stephen wasn’t the only person celebrating as many Jeopardy! viewers were overjoyed about Ken’s return.

On YouTube, one person commented: “Alright Ken’s back!!!”

Another wrote: “Glad Ken is back. Wish they would make him permanent and put an end to this madness.”

While a third commenter stated: “Welcome back KEN!!! The people’s choice. And Alex [Trebek’s] choice. Great to see you.”

GOOD NEWS

Earlier this week, fans were left buzzing over the news that Ken would be returning for Friday’s episode as numerous viewers have made it no secret they prefer his hosting style over that of Mayim.

Mayim was hosting the three-week-long High School Reunion Tournament which ended on Thursday.

Ken had been off and legions of fans were waiting to come back for the syndicated game show.

Plenty of pointed viewers have not been satisfied with Mayim’s hosting style compared to the 74-time champ who just keeps things rolling and lives and breathes all things Jeopardy!.

‘SO PLEASED TO HEAR IT’

As the dutiful Twitter account Is Ken Jennings Hosting This Week posted: “Ken Jennings will return to host Jeopardy! this Fri., 3/10 and will continue through 4/28 for what is expected to be his last hosting stint of the syndicated shows in Season 39.

“He will also host ‘Masters’ in primetime later this year—airdates still TBA.”

One fan replied: “We are very much looking forward to Ken returning to host Jeopardy!”

Another wrote: “YES! So pleased to hear it, my wife and I can begin watching again.”

While one said: “Not a fan of the shared hosting in general. I find it kind of disruptive.”

KEEPING BUSY

A Twitter user asked recently asked Ken what he does when he is not hosting, and he had a classic response.

Ken quoted the tweet and joked: “I go into one of those freezer cases from the Alien movies when Mayim is hosting, and vice versa.”

However, Ken did give a real glimpse as to what he gets up to when he isn’t hosting; he tweeted last week: “My new book comes out in June!”

The star explained that 100 Places To See After You Die is “a travel guide to the afterlife, from ancient Egypt, all the way up to The Good Place.”

He concluded: “So you might want to order it soon, just in case.”

Fans were all about the new book as one person reacted: “What a clever idea. I had pretty much decided on a cornfield in Iowa, but it’s always nice to shop around.”

Another added: “How exciting! Congratulations,” while one said, “Congrats! On another note, don’t know what’s going on with Jeopardy! lately but you are the perfect replacement for Alex Trebek…”