“We knew early on that we wanted to divide the hosting responsibilities and it became very clear that Mike and Mayim were the undeniable choices.
While Richards proved an excellent host, a “fantastic opportunity for radical change has been lost,” said Deepak Sarma, a Case Western Reserve University professor and Netflix cultural consultant.
Richards has an extensive, Emmy Award-winning game show resume.
He joined “Jeopardy!” as the replacement for retiring executive producer Harry Friedman starting with the 2020-21 season, and was in the job for only a few months when Trebek, 80, died last November of pancreatic cancer.
Jennings, who holds the record for most regular-game winnings with $2.52 million and the longest winning-streak, 74 games, had been considered a frontrunner, along with Cohen and Bialik .
When Variety reported last week that he was close to signing a deal, fans and observers questioned whether the supposed audition and selection process was a stunt, with the conclusion foregone.