Colin Jost Addresses Rumors He’s ‘Trying to Steal Ken Jennings’ Job’ on ‘Jeopardy!’
Colin Jost Addresses Rumors He’s ‘Trying to Steal Ken Jennings’ Job’ on ‘Jeopardy!’
Jeopardy!
A buzzworthy new addition to the Jeopardy!-verse is upon us. Pop Culture Jeopardy! premieres on Amazon Prime Video on Wednesday, December 4. Before its big debut, Colin Jost shared his mindset and addressed rumors of a feud with Ken Jennings.
When news of the spinoff first broke in May, some unsubstantiated reports emerged claiming that Jost was looking to replace Jennings as host of the main show. In a wide-ranging new interview from The Ringer on Tuesday — Jost’s first about the big gig — he dismissed those rumors and “promised” fans he’s not, in fact, gunning for Jennings’ role.
“I promise I am in no way trying to steal his job,” Jost told the outlet. He’s very good at his job. I also have a job. He and I texted during [Pop Culture Jeopardy!], actually.”
Jost shared what those conversations were like, saying Jennings was “supportive” in preparing him to join the daunting and fast-paced world of Jeopardy! hosting.
“He was just supportive. What he was saying is true — there’s almost no one that knows what it’s like to host the game. You know, all the crazy specific things you have to do in every game and keep track of, in addition to what just seems like normal hosting stuff. The gameplay of it is so specific and fast and precise that it’s just an experience that almost no one gets to have. It’s like talking to someone who used to host Weekend Update—it’s its own vocabulary and own experience that’s very specific.”
Jost was also asked if he had an all-time favorite Jeopardy! contestant having watched the quiz show growing up, and he was quick name Jennings.
“Honestly, Ken Jennings,” he said. “He was the first person I saw go on that kind of crazy run, at whatever age I was when that happened, and it was really just so exciting to watch. I was watching every night to see what would happen. I think that’s part of why he’s such a great host to me—he has that credibility that you know he probably knows everything.”
The Saturday Night Live star also told fans what to expect from the new spinoff, and he said it’s “harder” material than the nightly show.
“I found Pop Culture Jeopardy! harder than regular Jeopardy! I was really impressed. You have to have a breadth of knowledge for all that’s within pop culture.” He also shared some of the teams of three wear “costumes,” and that “They wrote all the clues not knowing who the host was going to be.” He called this a “weird” experience since almost every episode has a clue about his wife, Scarlett Johansson.
Speaking of weird, since the spinoff is team-based, there is some history between the contestants: “And there were teams that had, like, one of them used to date a person in the group, but then they left that person and started dating the other one in the group. There are some weird love triangles happening. It was like an ad for Hinge or something.”
Jost also shared the interesting way he met Jeopardy!’s executive producer Michael Davies, much like Jennings (and his mythical Comedy Central pilot in the 2000s), he pitched a game show co-hosted by Michael Che to Davies years ago.
The Pop Culture Jeopardy! host praised the long-running quiz show and, once more, shared his respect for its host. “I still watch it whenever I have a chance. It’s just such a timeless, perfectly constructed game… I’m sure I’m a lot less efficient at it than Ken Jennings is. He probably also knows a lot more answers than I do.” Jost also threw in what could be perceived as Mayim Bialik shade: “Your focus is so much on the integrity of the game and wanting it to be paced up and for there not to be any weird pauses.”
Pop Culture Jeopardy! is the first-ever version of the quiz show to be based on teams of three, to be exclusively on streaming – not interfering with the nightly show – and solely based on niche pop culture instead of, say, Shakespeare. Finally, it also introduces a new host to the franchise in Jost. The inaugural season consists of 40 episodes, released in batches of three weekly until one team emerges the first-ever Pop Culture Jeopardy! champions winning $300,000. See full details here.
Pop Culture Jeopardy!, Series Premiere, December 4, Amazon Prime Video
