Ken Jennings will host the first new ‘Jeopardy!’ shows after Alex Trebek’s death

For those wondering if “Jeopardy!” would go on after Alex Trebek’s death, the show’s producers confirmed on Nov. 23 that the show must go on.

“Jeopardy!” executive producer Mike Richards released a statement saying the show would resume production on Nov. 30. The show will resume with Ken Jennings, a former contestant who was deemed the “Greatest of All Time” in January, as the first to guest host following Trebek’s death. Other guest hosts will be announced in the future.

Jennings joined the program at the start of the current season as a consulting producer. Before winning the “Greatest of All Time” series in January, Jennings set a still-standing record of 74 wins in a row in 2004.

“Alex believed in the importance of ‘Jeopardy!’ and always said that he wanted the show to go on after him,” said Richards. “We will honor Alex’s legacy by continuing to produce the game he loved with smart contestants and challenging clues. By bringing in familiar guest hosts for the foreseeable future, our goal is to create a sense of community and continuity for our viewers.”

Originally, “Jeopardy!” said it would have new episodes taped before Trebek’s death through Dec. 25. On Nov. 23, the game show said that during the weeks of Dec. 21 and 28, “Jeopardy!” will air a top 10 of Trebek’s past episodes. The final episode filmed before Trebek’s death will air Jan. 8.

New episodes featuring Jennings will air starting Jan. 11.

“There will only ever be one Alex Trebek, but I’m honored to be helping ‘Jeopardy!’ out with this in January,” Jennings tweeted.

Trebek died Nov. 8 after being diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.