Tomorrow, Katie Couric will take to the set of Jeopardy! for the last time as host. How do fans think she compared to previous hosts?
After two weeks of serving as host for the hit game show, Katie Couric, the first female Jeopardy! host’s time is almost up. While it can be debated how she ranks among other interim guest hosts, she takes the cake in at least one category.
Jeopardy! has vowed to match the total winning from the contestants during the two-week stint to go toward the charity of each host’s choosing.
Katie Couric is currently leading the race with nearly $200,000 raised for Stand Up to Cancer.
The 64-year-old journalist gushes about her time on Jeopardy! as well as her newfound respect for the late Alex Trebek.
“This has been an extraordinary experience for me,” Couric said on Monday’s episode. “It has made me respect Alex Trebek even more than I already did. Hosting this show is hard, and the fact that he did this while he was fighting pancreatic cancer, well, that was downright Herculean. I am so proud to help carry on his legacy and raise money for pancreatic cancer research.“
Couric is Jeopardy!’s third interim host, behind Ken Jennings and Mike Richards. Both hosts also gave a tribute shoutout to Alex Trebek, who worked for the game show for 36 years prior to his devastating death in early November.
Starting Monday, March 22, Dr. Mehmet Oz will take that stage.
After Dr. Oz, the star-studded list of Jeopardy! hosts continue. It will include NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, 60 Minutes’ Bill Whitaker, Big Bang Theory vet Mayim Bialik, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Today’s Savannah Guthrie.
Who is the Best Person for the Jeopardy! Job
As for who will impress both fans and producers enough to potentially secure the permanent job for season 38 in September, it has yet to be decided.
Mike Richards, a previous host, and executive producer for Jeopardy! noted a critical quality the permanent host must-have.
“Let’s make sure we get someone we are going to feel even better about in a decade than we do this year.”
According to a poll conducted by TV Line, 75.9% of voters said that Katie Couric should not be the permanent host.
A second poll showed Ken Jeggings was the best at the job with 46.1%. Mike Richards was in second with 27.9%, and 21% said they were undecided at this time. Couric only secured 4.3% of the vote.
