Fast Links
Sony has fired Mike Richards as the executive producer of Jeopardy!. This news, of course, comes not long after he was forced to step down as full-time host of the show for nine days as the replacement of the late Alex Trebek.
Jeopardized Career
Richards exited as host of the long-running game show after controversial comments he made on an eight-year-old podcast resurfaces. Moreover, the media unearthed discrimination lawsuits that several Price is Right staff filed against Richards in 2010 and 2011 while he worked on the show. While Richards remained on Jeopardy! as an executive producer, morale on the show was not high, even before the hosting debacle. Some sources say that what has happened in the past few weeks has made working on the set uneasy.
What Next?
The memo from Suzanne Prete, executive vice president of business and strategy for Jeopardy!, stated that Who Wants to Be a Millionaire executive producer Michael Davies will take over production duties in the interim.
Sony did not confirm if Davies is in line to permanently take over as executive producer of Jeopardy!, but only time will tell if that’s the case. Davies is based in New York and produces a large number of unscripted series and talk shows. Sony also owns his company, Embassy Row, so that increases his chances of becoming the permanent executive producer of Jeopardy!
Mike Richards’s run as executive producer of Jeopardy! was actually quite short. He took the job in 2020 after longtime executive producer Harry Friedman announced in August 2019 that he would step down once his contract expired. Other shows that Richards was the executive producer of include The Price is Right and Let’s Make a Deal. Although he signed a multi-year deal with Sony Pictures Television, Richards was also fired as executive producer of Wheel of Fortune, so who knows where his career will go in the future.