Jeopardy! is finally settling into its 40th season, with regular episodes having resumed after months of tournament play and Ken Jennings serving as the quiz show’s first solo host since Alex Trebek in 2020. The consistency is likely not only a comfort to viewers, but to Jennings, who seems to be beginning to step out of his predecessor’s shadow and develop his own identity behind the lectern. When the host was asked if that identity might include an homage to Trebek’s epic mustache, Jennings had a hilarious response.
During a conversation on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast, executive producer Michael Davies brought up Alex Trebek and Ken Jennings’ past comments that there are things Trebek did as one of the greatest game show hosts of all time that Jennings will never achieve. One might have expected the former super-champ to get sentimental, as he’s been known to do when talking about Trebek, but instead Jennings replied:
You know, I’m never gonna have the voice. I’m never gonna be the good-looking silver fox, the Canadian silver fox that we were so lucky to have with Alex.
Ken Jennings is not wrong — Alex Trebek was certainly a handsome gentleman. Men can only aspire to reach that level of silver fox in their older years, and Jennings does not believe that particular look is in the cards for his future. So what about some facial hair, asked Michael Davies? Might we see the younger host try a mustache? Jennings said:
I don’t think you’re gonna like it, if you ever see it. You will see the ratings drop.
We’ve all seen Ken Jennings be self-deprecating when it comes to how smart he is or how talented of a Jeopardy! player he was (he’s one of Jeopardy!’s biggest winners, after all), but somehow I’m inclined to believe him when he says we wouldn’t want to see him with a mustache. As for if ratings would drop, I can’t say I agree with that, because who wouldn’t tune in to see a mustachioed Jennings pay tribute to Trebek in such a way?
Because make no mistake, Alex Trebek’s mustache was nothing short of iconic. It was one of the most masculine mustaches in TV history. For the early years of his Jeopardy! career, Trebek was known for his prominent facial hair, until he went clean-shaven in 2001. He sported that look for 13 years before allowing it to grow back in 2014, allowing the audience to decide the ‘stache’s fate. Unfortunately, they voted for the razor.
In 2018, the mustache returned, bringing along a friend, and Jeopardy! fans were obsessed with the new beard. Then, in the midst of the pandemic in summer 2020, the beard made another appearance, as Alex Trebek was looking sharp in a video update he posted about the quiz show.
I love to see Ken Jennings coming into his own as the host of Jeopardy!, and while there’s one aspect of the game he has over Alex Trebek, it’s probably best Jennings doesn’t attempt to match his predecessor in the specific arena of facial hair.
Check your local listings to see when and where to find Ken Jennings’ clean-shaven face on Jeopardy!’s syndicated episodes, and Jeopardy! Masters is set to return at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, May 1, on ABC. Check out our 2024 TV schedule to see what other premieres are coming soon.
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