‘Jeopardy!’ hosts: Bialik, Jennings will finish 2021
NEW YORK (AP) » Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will split “Jeopardy!” hosting duties for the remainder of 2021.
Sony Pictures Television announced the plan Thursday, the same week that episodes filmed by ousted host Mike Richards are airing.
Richards, who also lost his role as “Jeopardy!” executive producer, was initially tapped as Alex Trebek’s successor but left the show after past misogynistic and disparaging comments surfaced.
Bialik was tapped as interim host, and her episodes will air through Nov. 5. After that, Sony says Jennings and Bialik will share hosting duties based on their schedules through the end of the calendar year. No on-air auditions of other potential hosts were announced.
Jennings, the recordholder for longest “Jeopardy!” winning streak, is a consulting producer on the show. Bialik has already been chosen to host “Jeopardy!” prime-time and spinoff series, including a new college championship.
“Jeopardy!” used a series of guest hosts, including Richards, for shows filmed after Trebek’s death. The beloved host died last November of cancer.
Piers Morgan to launch new show in deal with News Corp
LONDON (AP) » British presenter Piers Morgan will join News Corp and Fox News Media and host a TV show that will air in the U.S., Britain and Australia, the company said Thursday
News Corp executive chair Rupert Murdoch said Morgan, 56, is “the broadcaster every channel wants but is too afraid to hire.” Murdoch added in a statement: “Piers is a brilliant presenter, a talented journalist and says what people are thinking and feeling.”
The show is billed as the prime-time draw on the new channel talkTV, expected to launch in the U.K. in early 2022. It will also air on the video streaming service FOX Nation in the U.S. and on Sky News Australia. Morgan said he would also become a columnist for The Sun and The New York Post.
Morgan said his new show will be a “fearless forum for lively debate and agenda-setting interviews,” and praised Murdoch for championing free speech.
Morgan left Britain’s ITV in March after sparking a record 50,000 viewer complaints with controversial comments about Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. Morgan said he did not believe Meghan’s claims — made during a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey — about how the monarchy allegedly ignored her struggles with mental health.
Britain’s media watchdog said earlier this month that Morgan’s comments may have offended some but were not in breach of the broadcasting code.
The presenter began his media career at News Corp some three decades ago and has worked for tabloids including News of the World.