One night after Jeopardy’s long-time host Alex Trebek died, the show paid tribute to its anchor at the start of Monday’s episode.
Today we honor Alex Trebek. For over three decades he brought integrity, humor and intelligence to his duties as host of Jeopardy! He will be in our hearts forever.
Thank you, Alex. Love from us all. 💜 pic.twitter.com/w8abYY8SX5
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) November 10, 2020
“Jeopardy!” executive producer Mike Richards said the game show will air 35 previously taped episodes with Trebek, with Trebek’s final episode to be aired on Christmas.
"That's what he would have wanted," Richards said.
Trebek taped his final episode of Jeopardy on October 29. Jeopardy generally tapes a single week of episodes on one day.
“He loved this show and everything it stood for,” Richards said at the start of Monday’s episode. “In fact, he taped his final episodes less than two weeks ago. He will forever be an inspiration for his constant desire to learn, his kindness and for his love of his family.”
Trebek died on Sunday at the age of 80 following a battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
In March 2019, Trebek announced he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He immediately started treatment, but made no plans to retire. In fact, he kept hosting and taping new episodes.
As for the future of Jeopardy after Trebek, that remains in question. Trebek was Jeopardy’s second host after Art Flemming hosted the original version of Jeopardy.
Prior to the onset of the pandemic, Trebek took Jeopardy to primetime in January, inviting back three of the game show’s most successful contestants for a “Greatest of All Time” series. The series ended after four nights when Ken Jennings, who once rattled off 74 wins in a row, defeated James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter to claim the title.
Jennings has since been hired by the show to serve as a producer and ambassador, leading to speculation that he would be next in line to replace Trebek.