Alex Trebek is Jeopardy. The man has been the host of the quiz show for 31 seasons dating all the way back to 1984. But he’s getting up there in age. At 74, his best years are likely behind him, and retirement might come as soon as 2018 when his contract expires.
Sony Pictures has thought about this and secretly assembled a list of possible replacements.
Executives have a mental, if not official, short list of potential successors. The list includes sports radio and television host Dan Patrick; CNN anchor Anderson Cooper; NBC’s “Today” show co-host Matt Lauer; and NBC Sports anchor Josh Elliott.
Dan Patrick makes a lot of sense. He is the host of Sports Jeopardy, a once-a-week show that airs on the Crackle Network. His resume is pretty darn good; he’s done the Olympics for NBC, he’s been an ESPN anchor, and he has his own popular radio show. He’d be a good fit.
So too would Josh Elliott, a lesser-known name that’s been quite versatile in his career as both a sports and news anchor. As Awful Announcing notes, Elliott is much younger than other names on the list, so he could “hold the role for years.”
There are other names floating out there. Trebek himself has mentioned Ken Jennings as a possible successor, but my money’s on Patrick. Just seems like a natural progression.
