'Jeopardy!' Contestants Reveal What Mike Richards Did Before He Left the Show

When Jeopardy!’s new season premiered, fans were greeted with former-executive-producer-turned-host Mike Richards jumping right into the clues. But according to Jeopardy! contestants who played their games with Mike at the lectern, a few of his opening remarks were cut from episode.

On September 13, Jeopardy! returned with new episodes hosted by Mike. Although he had stepped down from his newly appointed role as Jeopardy!’s permanent host the month prior, he still filmed the quiz show’s first five episodes. As a result, what fans saw during the new season premiere is announcer Johnny Gilbert introducing Mike when he walked out on stage smiling. Moments later, Mike began discussing Jeopardy! champion Matt Amodio.

But a new article from The Ringer details what actually happened in those moments which no one got to see. “Contestants who were present during Richards’s lone day as host remember him delivering a short, on-camera address at the beginning of his first game expressing gratitude for being named permanent host; no such address appeared in last Monday’s broadcast,” staff writer Claire McNear wrote.

And it’s true — Jeopardy!’s premiere went on without any special remarks, except when Matt continued his historic game-winning streak. At the beginning of the episode, it was also announced that the show was commemorating Alex Trebek by naming the stage in his honor.

Months before all of this unfolded, Mike spoke with USA Today in late February about how he had gotten ready to guest host Jeopardy! and his overall experience standing at the podium.

"It was very fun; humbling doesn't begin to describe the feeling. It hit me like a ton of bricks when Johnny Gilbert announced my name,” he told the outlet. “That's of course the last thing you hear when you start to walk out … and it was overwhelming in the moment."

After a string of controversies, Mike ultimately left the show. Now, Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik and Jeopardy! prodigy Ken Jennings are taking turns hosting the quiz show for the rest of the year.

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