Jeopardy Host Thoughts pt. 2

So... that didn't last long.

Amusingly, not long before the fallout shattered Richards "opportunity" I read an article which lamented the decision but then justified it by saying that it wasn't that surprising if you knew how the contracting of these things actually worked out.

And I call BS on that.

He was the executive producer. If they were seriously considering him originally, then the whole thing was a farce and the debacle deserved every ounce of bad press the show and the show runners received.

I can understand that "intricacies" of how these things work might mean that the fan favorite or even the one with the best ratings might not "win". Or even that someone who wasn't originally introduced in this guest host stint might have been picked. 

But, it is clear that how this was pitched was that the guest hosts were being trialed and considered for the permanent hosting position. Richard's inclusion in that lineup was never supposed to happen. And the whole guest hosting stint need not have happened at all if the plan was to give it to the executive producer. 

Yes, there likely would have been SOME public outcry if he had just stepped into the role. But, far less than he garnered. In short... while it may be true that the general public may be in the dark about how these deals are made, the studio would not (or at the least should not) have been surprised by how the general public would react to this outcome.

You invite fan favorites like Ken Jennings, find gems like Aaron Rodgers and even invite people with massive popular support like Levar Burton and you lead the community to believe that these people have a chance. And then you say "no, on second thought, we nominate ourselves"?

And I want to come straight out and say; a big part of the reason all of this dirt came out about Richard's was expressly because of how much the broader community hated what happened. Make no mistake, this is the best outcome for Jeopardy! After that stint, it would have hurt the show to keep him on even if no dirt had been dug up.