Mike Richards Fired as Executive Producer of "Jeopardy!"

In the course of a few weeks, Mike Richards has gone from being the host and executive producer of Jeopardy! to being out of both roles and possibly done working in the entertainment business.

Richards, who stepped down after one day of serving as the new Jeopardy! host after offensive comments he made about women, Jewish people and other minority groups from a 2014 podcast came to light, was fired from his role as executive producer of the show as well as his role producing Wheel of Fortune.

Suzanne Prete, executive vice president of Business and Strategy for Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, informed staff about the firing of Richards, who joined as a producer of the latter show in 2020, via an internal note to staff that was obtained by Deadline.

See the full note, via Deadline, below:

Dear Team,

I’m writing to let you know that Mike will no longer be serving as EP of Wheel and Jeopardy! effective immediately. We had hoped that when Mike stepped down from the host position at Jeopardy! it would have minimized the disruption and internal difficulties we have all experienced these last few weeks. That clearly has not happened.

Michael Davies from Embassy Row has agreed to help with production on an interim basis until further notice. Michael and I will work together with all of you in the weeks ahead to ensure that production remains on schedule and we do not miss a beat as we head into the new season.

I know this has been a challenging time for the entire team, and I want to thank you all for your cooperation and professionalism over these last few weeks. As Ravi mentioned last week, I will be more involved in the day-to-day on our shows moving forward and I am looking forward to working closely with all of you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything.

Sincerely,

Suzanne

Sony had originally planned to stick with Richards, but apparently the situation became too much of a distraction and it was decided that firing him was a better option.

Update: Mike Richards staying on as exec producer at #Jeopardy, per Sony statement: pic.twitter.com/fd5lEHKHTt
— Lesley Goldberg (@Snoodit) August 20, 2021

While the search for a permanent host continues, which will likely end with Ken Jennings (who is already a producer of the show) getting the gig, Mayim Bialik will host the program for now.

Sony will also need to replace Richards as a producer, but, at least on a temporary basis, veteran game-show exec Michael Davies will fill his role at both Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Davies developed the original American version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, according to The New York Times.