With it being reportedly “a sh-t show” trying to fist a new permanent host for Jeopardy!, there’s a perfect candidate that it seems has been completely overlooked during the entire process. With Mike Richards previously being chosen for his qualifications of being the show’s executive producer, it’s incredible that the man who brought Jeopardy! into the big leagues and won a record-breaking 43 Daytime Emmy Awards hasn’t even been considered.
Many might not recognize Harry Friedman at a glance, he was the main mind behind the show as well as Wheel of Fortune for twenty years. He also has credits working on The Hollywood Squares, Gambit, and High Rollers over the years showing that he really knows his way around a gameshow.
One of the biggest complaints from current Jeopardy! fans, including famous champion Arthur Chu, has been that the show’s focus has now turned to who the host is instead of those competing on the show.
“At my tapings, Trebek told us that if he were ever to retire, his one piece of advice to his successor would be, ‘Stay out of the way, and let the contestants be the stars…’ The disruption of rotating hosts was jarring enough for a show built on dependability, but the whole celebrity concept betrayed the secret of how Jeopardy! captivated us: the fantasy that you or I or anyone else could be the one in the spotlight.”
So why not give Friedman a shot? He not only is not surrounded by controversies like other potential hosts including Mayim Bialik or famous YouTuber Mat Pat, but he also has an amazing record of charitable giving having helped found the Neonatal Intensive Care unit at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha.
He has even said recently that he’s been entertaining the idea of a new full-time gig after his recent retirement from Jeopardy! so why not bring him on as host for the show? We might be able to get LeVar Burton or Samantha Bee, but his seasoned hands at the helm might be exactly what the show needs going forward.
