Jeopardy! taps Katie Couric as next guest host following Ken Jennings after Trebek's final episodes

Jeopardy! will soon see its first female host in the show’s 37 seasons.

Veteran news anchor Katie Couric has been tapped to step into the role of guest host for the popular series for a week of shows, the Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday.

The 63-year-old household name will succeed the game show’s first guest host to take over after Alex Trebek’s death, Greatest of All Time player, Ken Jennings.

Several sources familiar with the situation confirmed to the LA Times that Couric would be Jeopardy’s second guest host once Alex Trebek’s final episodes air.

Neither Sony Pictures Television nor Couric would officially comment on the gig and it’s unclear whether or not the former Today anchor is looking to score the emcee job full-time.

Katie will reportedly co-host the quiz show for one week with the episodes airing sometime following Ken Jennings later in January.

Alex Trebek, who has helmed Jeopardy! since 1984, died from pancreatic cancer on November 8th. He was filming new episodes as late as October prior to his passing.

Trebek’s final episodes were originally scheduled to conclude on Christmas Day but due to expected pre-emptions from the holiday, producers decided to push them back and air re-runs so that fans could enjoy them without interruption. 

Monday marked the beginning of the last week of episodes that the beloved Canadian host had pre-taped in the fall. 

In one of the last shows that Alex filmed before he died which aired earlier this week, he urged Jeopardy! viewers to help COVID-19 victims.

‘You’ll recall that about a month ago, I asked all of you to take a moment to give thanks for all of the blessings that you enjoy in your lives,’ said the veteran TV personality, who was 80 when he lost his cancer battle. 

‘Now, today, a different kind of message. This is the season of giving – I know you want to be generous with your family, your friends, your loved ones.’

He continued, ‘But today, I’d like you to go one step further: I’d like you to open up your hands and open up your hearts to those who are still suffering because of COVID-19.’

Trebek said that there are ‘people who are suffering through no fault of their own’ and solidarity would help society move forward past the pandemic.

‘We’re trying to build a gentler, kinder society and if we all pitch in – just a little bit – we’re gonna get there,’ he said.

On January 11th, Ken Jennings will take over as Jeopardy!’s first guest host for a week. 

Jennings officially became part of the show’s team in 2020 with his own category of clues.

Over the course of his career as a contestant on the show, Jennings won 74 games of Jeopardy! in a row and claimed the show’s ‘Greatest Of All Time’ title in a competition last year.  

This week Ken found himself in hot water after insensitive tweets resurfaced from 2014 and the quiz show champ apologized for the ableist comments. 

Katie Couric, meanwhile, is one of the most well-known and well-respected news personalities. She served as a correspondent and host for NBC News and The Today Show from 1989-2006. 

Couric then went on to anchor the CBS Evening News and worked as a 60 Minutes correspondent until 2011. 

Following her gig at CBS, Katie moved to ABC News and also hosted her own eponymous daytime talk show.