Who should be the next host of “Jeopardy!”?

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A few names were predictable. Ken Jennings, the “Jeopardy!” the champion with the longest winning streak in the series would be the ideal choice, some fans have said.

Other suggestions were more unusual. What about Rosie Perez, the charismatic actress who in “White Men Can’t Jump” played a trivia game who was determined to participate in the game show?

As fans cried along “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, who died at age 80 on Sunday, they also began to speculate on who could replace him. Social media was buzzing with suggestions and jokes about who should host the show, from mainstream options, like Mr. Jennings and ABC News host George Stephanopoulos, to more shocking options, like brash comedian and podcast host Joe Rogan.

Mr. Trebek wasn’t even the first host of “Jeopardy!” When the show was relaunched in 1984, some fans of its original host, Art Fleming, bristled at brain Mr. Trebek, who was not afraid to show his knowledge of trivia, said Claire McNear, whose book on “Jeopardy !,” “Answers in the Form of Questions,” was released Tuesday.

Now it is synonymous with spectacle.

“Trebek really felt like a member of the family because he was there in your living room every night,” Ms. McNear said.

So it was understandable that fans were thinking about replacing Mr. Trebek even as they mourned him, she said.

So, at least according to the fans, who are the suitors?

Many fans on social media were pushing for LeVar Burton, who hosted “Reading Rainbow”; played Lieutenant Geordi La Forge, the intelligent and blind engineer in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”; and portrayed Kunta Kinte in the 1977 miniseries “Roots”.

As of Tuesday, more than 1,500 people had signed a petition urging Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and the show’s executive producer, Harry Friedman, to give the job to Mr. Burton.

“LeVar Burton has inspired and shaped the minds of generations of trivia nerds,” the petition said.

Mr Burton has long been a fan favorite to replace Mr Trebek, Ms McNear said. And before Mr. Trebek died, Mr. Burton was not shy of his interest in assuming the role.

“I’m not going to lie, I feel like I’ve been preparing my whole life for the @Jeopardy host podium when Alex retires,” he wrote on Twitter in September.

Mr Trebek had said he would like to see a woman or person of color succeed him, according to Ms McNear, who interviewed him for his book.

“He told me he was keenly aware that the vast majority of the hosts were white males,” she said. “And it would be wonderful if the next host of ‘Jeopardy!’ did not look like him.

Mr. Jennings is another fan favorite. Not only did he win a record 74 straight games and $ 2.52 million on “Jeopardy!” in 2004, he was also a consultant on the show.

His serious but kind demeanor would make him a natural successor to Mr. Trebek, said Steve Macek, professor of communication at North Central College in Naperville, Ill.

“Fans would be upset if Trebek were replaced with a colorful or fun personality who overshadowed the contestants and the questions,” he said. “Ken Jennings, Jeopardy’s winningest contender, has to be in the running, and that would be a good choice.

And Mr. Jennings wants the job, or at least he did it two years ago when Ms. McNear interviewed him for her book. “He told me that he would absolutely serve his country and serve his game show if asked,” she said.

There was also fan interest in Ben Mankiewicz, the mild-mannered Turner Classic Movies host, though a petition urged the producers of “Jeopardy!” to make him the host hadn’t amassed nearly as many signatures as that in favor of Mr. Burton.

“Ben is someone who can grow with current and future viewers for many years to come, like Alex did,” wrote MJ Rocissono, the fan who started the petition.

“I can only think of one suitable host at the moment and that is @ BenMank77, ” said a fan on Twitter, using Mr. Mankiewicz’s grip.

Mrs. Perez’s turn as “Jeopardy!” obsessive in “White Men Can’t Jump” (1992) remained memorable enough to garner the support of many fans.

“If Jeopardy’s new host isn’t Rosie Perez, I don’t want him,” one fan written on twitter. “Rosie or Bust,” said another.

Few other women have been cited by fans as possible hosts, although Mr Trebek has championed the idea of ​​a woman taking over. In 2018, he said he believed CNN’s senior legal analyst Laura Coates would make a good host.

Still, Sarah Kornfield, a fan of the show and a communications professor at Hope College in Michigan, said the producers were unlikely to pick a woman to fill the role. “Expertise, warmth and reliability are associated with masculine characteristics in the United States,” said Professor Kornfield. “People associate expert women with being strident, and that’s not the tone of ‘Jeopardy!’ is supposed to go to bed for the night.

She said she personally supported Melissa Harris-Perry, an American politics professor and former MSNBC host.

Mr. Rogan, the popular but divisive podcaster, was on the minds of some fans who said his rude character would give the sober quiz show a much-needed jerk.

“Joe Rogan must host Jeopardy”, a fan wrote. “He would spend a day in the field making fun of the competitors.”

But Mr Rogan, who presents himself as a counterweight to what he sees as insane political correctness, has drawn criticism for discussing conspiracy theories, demeaning transgender people and sharing his platform with extreme figures. right, like Gavin McInnes, the founder of the Proud Boys.

Ms McNear said he should not be seen as a serious candidate to succeed Mr Trebek.

“‘Peril!’ the fans would revolt in the streets, “she said.” The institution must protect. “



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