How Colin Jost’s social status ‘gives him a one-up’ on Ken Jennings as Pop Culture Jeopardy! host

COLIN Jost’s industry connections and star power have made him a “real favorite” with producers, which could jeopardize Ken Jennings getting future specials – a studio source told The U.S. Sun.

Colin , 42, was named the host of the new Pop Culture Jeopardy! on Amazon Prime in July, giving Ken Jennings , 50, friendly competition.

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Jeopardy!

The G.O.A.T contestant, who won a record 74 straight games, became Jeopardy! ‘s permanent host after Mayim Bialik was fired in December 2023.

Ken is now the sole host of the nightly or syndicated show and has helmed all specials since.

However, he’s no longer the only host in the Jeopardy!-verse since Colin arrived.

The Saturday Night Live golden boy was named host of the streaming-only Pop Culture spinoff instead of Ken.

The offshoot was taped last month , and its premiere date is TBA.

Ken struck fame as the winningest champion on the game show he now hosts, and has never had another significant TV role.

While this makes Ken the heir apparent for Alex Trebek , and fans have embraced him, his place as the franchise’s figurehead is suddenly on shaky ground.

‘MAJOR COUP’

“At Sony TV, getting Colin to come aboard Jeopardy! was a major coup,” the insider source shared.

“Mainly because Colin’s corporate home for twenty years has been [rival media company] NBC Universal.”

“It was a big deal for the Sony execs to get him for Jeopardy! and he’s definitely got a ton of wiggle room to do his thing and add to the humor of the shows where he sees fit.

“And Colin has more experience with live TV than almost anybody involved with Jeopardy!,” they added.

“He can make things work in the moment that Ken can’t, and nobody is in denial about that.”

COLIN FOR CELEBRITY JEOPARDY?

While Pop Culture Jeopardy! isn’t taped live, the source shared that Colin’s celebrity status could lead him to expand his domain.

Celebrity Jeopardy! in primetime was recently renewed, but as of now, there is cryptically no host attached.

Jeopardy! Contestant Rules

Passing Jeopardy!'s online Anytime Test is hard enough, but there are also many rules players must follow once they make it to the stage:

• The returning champion is always at the leftmost podium and keeps playing until they lose.
• Contestants don’t have to say “who is” or “what is” in the first round but must do so in Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy.
• Contestants can change their responses as long as Ken Jennings or the judges haven’t made a ruling.
• The minimum wager for a Daily Double is $5. The minimum wager for Final Jeopardy! is $0.
• Written responses in Final Jeopardy! do not have to be spelled correctly , but they must be phonetically correct (the judges decide this).
• If there’s a tie after Final Jeopardy, the tied players enter a bonus clue shootout, and whoever buzzes in first correctly wins.
• If all three contestants wager everything in Final Jeopardy! and are incorrect, leaving them with $0, there will be no returning champion (it’s happened before—six times).

Celebrity Jeopardy!’s third season will air in early 2025 (Ken hosted Season 2 of the rebooted special, Mayim Season 1).

Since Colin has the A-list status that the trivia titan doesn’t, taking Celebrity Jeopardy! from Ken is a distinct possibility.

“Colin can interact with celebrity contestants with confidence because they seem him as a peer,” the source continued.

“Unfortunately, that’s never going to be the case with Ken [as far as Celebrity Jeopardy! goes].”

The studio source previously shared that if Jeopardy! were “100 percent” sold on Ken, he would be named the permanent host of all specials – which hasn’t happened.

“Yes, if they truly had 100% confidence in Ken, they would tap him for their primetime and celebrity editions, which they have decidedly not done.”

That said, the source shared that Ken’s place as the frontman of nightly Jeopardy! is not in question.

“It is what it is. Ken can’t really affect things except by being consistent on the nightly show and making sure the ratings don’t slide too badly.

“Colin has emerged as a real favorite of the Sony executives, but for now Ken’s job is safe.”

‘KEEPING OPTIONS OPEN’

A source previously told The U.S. Sun that Colin still even “replace” Ken on the nightly show , but that’s unlikely given ratings and fans’ embrace of the champ-turned-host.

“The only real reason to replace Ken is if the ratings took a nosedive, and that hasn’t happened yet,” they shared.

“It’s not a live show; it’s taped well in advance, and therefore, mistakes are just as much, if not more, the producer’s and writers’ responsibility as they are Ken’s.”

The U.S. Sun also previously reported that Ken does not have a long-term contract for his $4 million hosting job .

“Sony is keeping him in the hosting job but they are also keeping their options open.”

But they admitted, either way: “It really looks like a massive no-confidence vote in Ken by tapping Colin Jost [for Pop Culture Jeopardy!]”

BIALIK’S BACK?

Meanwhile, Celebrity Jeopardy! in particular has become a toss-up in terms of who will host.

Axed co-host Mayim unexpectedly revealed on Tuesday that she is would return for the special.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, she was asked about returning to host Celebrity Jeopardy! again.

While Mayim was definitively let go from the nightly show, executives have left the door open for her on the celebrity spinoff.

“I’m definitely still a fan of the show and very honored that I was nominated for an Emmy for my work there.

“That is something that I got to change my bio, that I was nominated for Jeopardy!

“So, yeah, it’s something I’m still very proud of. And yeah, we’ll see what happens this season.”

Jeopardy!’s 41st season with Ken as host premiered just this week, on September 9, 2024.

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