Celebrity Jeopardy! just crowned its third winner, and that newly-minted champion is already vying for Ken Jennings‘ job. W. Kamau Bell appeared on the Inside Jeopardy! Podcast and joked that Jennings works too hard.
Bell faced off against Robin Thede and Dave Friedberg in the finale on Wednesday, April 23. He won only by correctly answering the Final Jeopardy question after being $2,000 behind the first-place contender with $13,600. He wagered all but $1 in Final Jeopardy, and since he was the only one to get the question right, he won the game. In addition to becoming the champ, he also took home $1 million to his charity of choice, DonorsChoose, a nonprofit organization that allows individuals to donate directly to public school classroom projects.
About halfway through the interview, after talking about Bell’s game, executive producer and podcast host Michael Davies said, “After the show, you spoke to Ken and said, ‘Hey look, Ken. You got to be the host of regular Jeopardy! because you were the G.O.A.T. of Jeopardy!. Now, Celebrity Jeopardy! should be hosted by a Celebrity Jeopardy! champion.’”
“I just think he works so hard,” Bell said. “I’m not saying he looks tired. I hear from his family sometimes. They all miss him, so I’m not saying anybody in particular, but if Ken needs a break, I might know a Celebrity Jeopardy! champion who might step in for him.” Bell looked at the camera with a smirk.
“I liked your idea, though,” Sarah Whitcomb-Foss, executive producer and podcast cohost, said to Davies.
“I said, you versus Ike [Barenholtz] versus Lisa Ann Walter, and you just play,” Davies said. “We’ll sign a contract with all three of you beforehand, and then the three of you will play and then turn over and host.” Barenholtz won Season 1 while Walter won Season 2. All three winners of the game show have been comedians.
“I’m ready for it because I’m the most recent champion,” Bell replied. “I’m peaking right now.”
Earlier in the podcast episode, Bell said that comedians “have a lot of free time” on their hands, so he would have plenty of time to fill in as host. He also ended the podcast by saying that Jennings is “so sweet.”
However, Jeopardy! did have a celebrity host for a period of time. Mayim Bialik cohosted with Jennings for a few months before she was fired and just Jennings took over.
Do you think a celebrity should host Celebrity Jeopardy! while Jennings sticks to the regular version and tournaments? Let us know in the comments.
Celebrity Jeopardy!, Season 3 now streaming, Hulu
