Ken Jennings dubbed ‘bratty little brother’ on Jeopardy! set – but ‘focus’ for show’s future hinges on host

KEN Jennings is working to overcome a “bratty little brother” reputation among Jeopardy!’s famously low-turnover staff, a studio insider has told The U.S. Sun.

Ken, 50, became Jeopardy!’s sole permanent host after actress Mayim Bialik was dismissed in December.

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Ken Jennings is seen hosting Celebrity Jeopardy!Credit: Getty

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Mayim Bialik was dismissed as co-host, so all eyes are now on KenCredit: Getty

The longtime staff is still warming up to Ken Jennings, but the ‘focus’ is on him to uphold the show’s integrity like Alex TrebekCredit: Getty
The Greatest of All Time contestant who won a record 74 straight games is nicely settling into his job as the syndicated show’s sole host.

Ken, who just wrapped his first season as the only face of the nightly show, is looking to channel Alex Trebek and host for decades to come.

But since the game show’s insular staff of writers and judges has already been at Jeopardy! for decades, he still has a studio reputation as the new guy.

“Ken has a lot of fans on the staff because a good number of the crew members who saw his rise to game show fame 20 years ago on the show are still in those jobs,” the Sony insider shared.

“They’ve all grown old together, and he may have a ‘bratty little brother’ vibe to him sometimes, but Ken is still an important part of the family.”

“It remains to be seen if he can evolve into the father figure and leader that Alex was for almost his entire run,” they continued.

‘DON’T KILL THE GOLDEN GOOSE’

The source said the staff’s goal is to maintain Jeopardy!’s pristine status as the GOAT American quiz show.

And now, that largely hinges on how Ken does as its next potential longtime host.

“Right now the focus for everybody, but especially Ken, is: ‘Don’t kill the golden goose.’

“Everybody working on the show right now wants it to keep going for another 20 years, ideally with Ken in the hosting seat,” they said.

Jeopardy! bosses may replace Ken Jennings with Colin Jost (1)
“The crew, like the audience, values consistency in the ratings and in the production.”

Thankfully, Jeopardy! ratings have held steady with Ken in the driver’s seat, and fans have embraced the host; most think he does a great job.

NOT ‘TAKING THE BAIT’

One sign that Ken is taking his sole host role more seriously is he has mostly stopped posting on his once-controversial Twitter account.

His resurfaced “wheelchair” tweet, among others, got him in trouble when the host search began in 2021 and nearly cost him the gig.

Jeopardy! Host Timeline

Jeopardy! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts after the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are all of the hosts since the game show’s inception in 1964.

Art Fleming – 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.

Alex Trebek – 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted Jeopardy!’s modern iteration for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.

Guest hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested out a series of guest hosts for week or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers.

Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for one week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.

Mayim Bialik – 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.

Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the longest-winning contestant ever) joined Mayim as a guest host and they split hosting duties.

Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a lengthy hiatus, having stood with the writer’s strike, and Ken was named sole host.

Ken now helms all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the nightly show, and other primetime specials like Masters.

Even when Ken was co-hosting with Mayim, he regularly got into Twitter arguments with fans when they accused him of mistakes.

Fans were astonished that the host couldn’t resist his Twitter fingers even as he hosted the beloved, gather-around-the-living-room quiz show.

In 2023, Ken replied to a disgruntled fan by making a joke about the fan’s wife in a wild since-deleted post.

The fan said he and his wife preferred Buzzy Cohen as host, and Ken replied, “Maybe Buzzy can come over to your house and attend to your wife?”

In another 2023 post, Ken replied to a fan over an on-air pronunciation disagreement: “You guys lost the war & now the North writes the dictionaries.”

It remains to be seen if he can evolve into the father figure and leader that Alex [Trebek] was for almost his entire run.

Inside source

Since Mayim was let go, Ken has polished his social media presence and only posts to the platform once a month.

The U.S. Sun source said this is a clear sign of Ken’s improvement arc and how seriously he takes his job.

Focused on channeling Alex’s impartiality, he’s no longer “taking the bait” of social media.

“The problem is that’s [Twitter/X] the first place angry fans are going to go to complain about something they see on an episode.

“Ken has gotten a lot better at not taking the bait and getting into online fights, that’s for sure,” the source said.

Jeopardy!’s 41st season with Ken as host premieres on September 9, 2024.

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Jeopardy!’s longtime writing staff is seen here writing cluesCredit: Jeopardy!

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While the staff considers Ken an ‘important part of the family, it remains to be seen if he can evolve into the father figure and leader that Alex was’Credit: Getty

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Alex Trebek is seen here going over a clue sheet with head writer Billy WisseCredit: Jeopardy!