Followers might have sturdy opinions on the subject of Ken Jennings vs. Mayim Bialik as their most popular Jeopardy! host, however the quiz present grasp is concerned in a unique rivalry that’s been brewing for even longer. Self-described recreation present villain James Holzhauer has been gunning for Jennings since 2020, when the now-host defeated him and Brad Rutter to be named the official Jeopardy! GOAT. It appears Holzhauer’s ways may be attending to Jennings, too, as producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss revealed two amusing blunders from a current episode that appear to show the villain lives rent-free within the host’s head.
On the Inside Jeopardy! podcast, Sarah Whitcomb Foss stated that attributable to a wild manufacturing schedule, the ultimate episodes of Jeopardy! Masters — which aired in Might — had been truly taped in the identical week because the syndicated episodes that ran final week, in mid-July. James Holzhauer took house the Trebek Trophy and $500,000 prize, however not earlier than sending a pointed message to Ken Jennings to “cease ducking a rematch.” Foss relayed the Freudian slip that adopted, when Jennings flubbed contestant Justin White’s identify — twice! She stated:
So we’re stopped down throughout a industrial break, and Ken by chance known as Justin ‘James.’ And [Ken] stated, ‘I’m so sorry, I feel I’ve PTSD from Masters.’ And Justin joked, ‘I’m not a villain!’ After which Ken did it a second time, enormous laughs from the viewers, and Ken stated, ‘If I say his identify 3 times, he has to switch you. It’s like Beetlejuice.’
I imply, in case you had been ever going to have anyone to faucet in for you on Jeopardy!, who higher than James Holzhauer? I might have let Ken Jennings go forward and full that trifecta! It’s truly not arduous to see The Chase star as Michael Keaton’s notorious mischievous ghost, and podcast co-host Buzzy Cohen even urged that Holzhauer ought to declare, “It’s showtime!” when he returns for Jeopardy! Masters’ second season.
It’s fairly hilarious to assume that Ken Jennings can be intimidated by another Jeopardy! winner, even when James Holzhauer can also be proper up there with Jennings as one of many largest winners in Jeopardy! historical past. However Jennings has had no qualms in admitting that he thinks he “received some breaks” within the GOAT match, and since he’s positive the self-proclaimed villain wouldn’t let that occur once more, there “ain’t gonna be no rematch.”
James Holzhauer might not be getting his rematch, however I think about he’s taking some pleasure in figuring out simply how a lot he’s gotten within the head of the Best Of All Time. The skilled sports activities gambler has made it a degree at seemingly each alternative to troll his rival, even when congratulating Amy Schneider on her historic run.
He’s additionally been a lot vocal in regards to the quiz present’s notorious internet hosting brouhaha, joking that The Chase ought to “jerk across the viewers” with a unique host each week, as Jeopardy! did following Alex Trebek’s demise. He was at it once more lately, when Wheel of Fortune seemingly prevented related drama by appointing Ryan Seacrest as Pat Sajak’s successor a full season earlier than the longtime host retires.
If you wish to see James Holzhauer in motion on Jeopardy! Masters, ABC is re-airing the match beginning Tuesday, July 25, at 9 p.m. ET. All episodes are additionally accessible to stream with a Hulu subscription.
