Alex Trebec was the iconic host of the beloved trivia game show Jeopardy! for nearly four decades before he tragically passed of pancreatic cancer in November 2020. Now that he’s gone, the showrunners are faced with a pressing question: How do we replace a legend? 

For some, the childhood memories he helped to create allow for no replacement. 

“We always kinda watched [Jeopardy!] when it was on,” PHS senior and avid Jeopardy! watcher Olivia Lobingier said, “but we were never really into it until our basement flooded two years ago and we had to stay at my grandma’s house all summer. She watches it every day, and we joined her. It was my favorite part of the day.”

Of course, it’s not as though people want Jeopardy! to die with its host; they’re optimistic about a fitting new host being tapped. As high as their hopes may be, though, their expectations are far higher. 

“I want them to be personable,” PHS senior and devoted Alex Trebec fan Jaxton Braten said, “like Alex was. He was very good about being open to the audience and . . . addressing the players and making them feel comfortable. I feel like that was a huge thing that he did.”

Added Lobingier: “Alex always looked like he was having fun. The next host should feel the same.”

If viewers are expecting Jeopardy!’s next host to be a shiny new carbon copy of Mr. Trebec, though, they’re sure to be disappointed. According to “How Can ‘Jeopardy!’ Replace Alex Trebek? See Game-Show History,” on NewYorkTimes.com, replacing a beloved game show host can make or break the program, and trying to force a new face into an old script rarely works, as exhibited by the transition from Bob Barker to Drew Carey on The Price Is Right.

When Carey first arrived on the stage, very little was altered from Bob Barker’s format. The show’s logo would split to reveal him standing onstage, he would be introduced to the audience as “the star of The Price Is Right,” and the studio audience would awkwardly applaud. 

“They were trying to make Drew host Bob’s show,” executive producer Mike Richards said in an interview with the New York Times. “And I thought it was very important that Drew host Drew’s version of The Price Is Right.”

So they changed the script to better fit Carey’s style, realizing his strengths laid in his interactions with his onstage colleagues and contestants. Given how much of a shock Trebec’s passing was, as well as how much he meant to all his viewers, Richards and his team are giving the audience time to grieve and process by not yet deciding on a permanent replacement. In the interim, they’ve invited a series of guest hosts to fill in. According to “Here Are All The Guest Jeopardy’ Hosts Scheduled in 2021 So Far” on GoodHousekeeping.com, the list of guest hosts includes Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback, Mayim Bialik, better known as Amy Ferrah Fowler to fans of The Big Bang Theory, and Ken Jennings, Jeopardy!’s longest-reigning champion and a personal friend of Trebec’s.