Is Ken Jennings a Better ‘Jeopardy!’ Host Than Alex Trebek? Vote in Our Poll

TV Guide Magazine September 20, 2023, 8:00 am

Ken Jennings and Alex Trebek for 'Jeopardy!' — Sony Pictures Televsion; Jeopardy!, Inc.

For 37 seasons, Alex Trebek hosted Jeopardy!. Then, after he died in 2020, the game show had to pivot, first with guests and then eventually with Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik splitting hosting duties.

In the latest issue of TV Guide Magazine, we tackled a tough topic: Who’s the best Jeopardy! host? Is it the classic favorite or the champ-turned-Emmy nominee? Check out our cases for each below, then vote in the poll.

Alex Trebek

There are GOATs, and then there are lions. With no knock against “Greatest of All Time” player turned host Ken Jennings, whose nerd-tastic savoir faire is keeping Jeopardy! relevant for the next generation of trivia nuts, Alex Trebek will now and forever be remembered not only as the face and voice, but as the soul and heart, of TV’s smartest quiz show.

Icons like Trebek aren’t born, they’re made, and Alex honed his craft as a newscaster and TV host in Canada before decamping to California in the early 1970s. After rising through the ranks of more middling game shows, he landed the prized Jeopardy! gig when it was successfully relaunched in syndication in 1984. It was a perfect fit. As I noted in my tribute when Trebek passed away in November 2020 after a public battle with pancreatic cancer, he was “a constant and reassuring presence in so many lives…a comforting oasis of intelligence
and quick thinking presided over by a man with the air of a gentleman scholar.”

It may be unfair to compare a relative newbie with a legend who spent 36 years behind the Jeopardy! podium, but even so it’s hard to imagine Jennings commanding headlines by shaving off his facial hair. (Please, Ken, don’t grow a mustache. It’s not worth it!) Or ranking No. 8 in a 2013 Reader’s Digest poll of America’s most trusted people. Will Saturday Night Live find a way to parody Ken’s milquetoast persona the way Will Ferrell so memorably spoofed the more dashing, authoritative Alex? Not counting on it.

Personally, I’m thrilled that Jennings is upholding the Jeopardy! standard so admirably. I’m also sure he’d be the first to agree that there will never be another Alex Trebek. —Matt Roush

17 of 'Jeopardy's Most Memorable Champions in Recent Years

Ken Jennings

The perfect host for Jeopardy! in 2023 — and beyond — is Ken Jennings.

He has brought fresh energy and a more modern appeal to the esteemed show since taking over from Alex Trebek. While Alex was beloved, the show was beginning to feel a tad dated with him standing at the lectern for so many seasons. It’s crazy to think that Mike Richards was actually the preferred choice to replace him after those interminable guest host tryouts two years ago. After all, Ken understands Jeopardy! better than anyone and has an aura that goes with being the show’s GOAT. He is charismatic, warm and, yes, slightly awkward. But that’s part of his charm and why contestants and viewers love him. He’s been there, seen it, done it…and he’s not very different from the show’s legion of fans.

Alex was from the old-school world of TV hosting, a smooth-talking professional broadcaster who had fronted other game shows before. Undoubtedly, he was a large part of Jeopardy!’s success, but fans also remember how he could appear aloof and condescending with contestants.

In contrast, Ken bonds beautifully with even the more eccentric contestants and genuinely seems interested in their anecdotes. He’s a nerd just like them. When Ken corrects a wrong answer, you suspect he knows the answer and isn’t simply reading a card. Then there is the way he seems to slightly flinch in disbelief when contestants draw a blank on questions he deems easy. He instinctively understands the flow of the show and has helped Jeopardy! move forward since Alex died. The show is a TV juggernaut and a lot of that is down to the genius that is Ken. —Martin Smith

Jeopardy!, Weekdays, check your local listings

This is an excerpt from TV Guide Magazine’s 2023 Returning Favorites issue. For more first looks at fall’s returning shows, pick up the issue, on newsstands now.