The FRONTRUNNER

Why the all-time champ deserves to carry on Alex Trebek's legacy and become the permanent host of Jeopardy!

- DAMIAN HOLBROOK

WE'LL TAKE KEN Jennings for...fulltime host of Jeopardy! And we'd wager a bet we're not alone.

Since the great Alex Trebek's passing in 2020 from pancreatic cancer, the 47-year-old former Jeopardy! champion and consulting producer has become one of the most popular replacements to fill the late icon's spot, thanks to his smarts, magnetism and endearing dad jokes. Jennings' current tenure-he's been sharing hosting duties with The Big Bang Theory alum Mayim Bialik since last September-continues to convince us that he is perfect for the job. Even if he wasn't sold on the idea when he was first asked to guest host in the wake of Trebek's death.

"I had so much hesitation going in," the former software engineer admitted in March 2021, “just knowing firsthand what a tough job Alex was doing for decades and how easy he made it look... You can't believe how fast it moves when you have to run the game."

Indeed, he had a bit of a bumpy start, which was off-putting to longtime show fans. "He's reading the clues too fast," one person griped on Twitter during his early days. But the Washington native, who holds the record for the highest-earning American game-show winner of all time thanks in part to his whopping 74-episode run in 2004-now works that podium like the GOAT he is.