Previous “Risk!” champion Buzzy Cohen has been tapped to guest host the show’s upcoming Tournament of Champions.
The fan-favorite winner of 2016 who proceeded to win the following year’s tournament will take over guest-hosting duties as a feature of the growing roster of guests getting behind the podium to fill in for the late Alex Trebek, who passed on at age 80 after a protracted fight with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
As per People, Cohen will guest host the show beginning May 17 through the 28th and direct the tournament that will see returning champions compete against champions compete against to see who is the best “Jeopardy!” player among them.
The outlet reports that Cohen’s extended role on the show implies he’ll be working intimately with writers and producers and therefore disqualified himself from showing up as a “Jeopardy!” contestant in the future. Luckily, Cohen has effectively substantiated himself on the famous game show’s stage multiple times.
“Buzzy has been where each of these champions is, so it’ll be comforting for the contestants to see a familiar face behind the lectern,” “Jeopardy!” executive producer Mike Richards told the outlet in a statement. “We will miss seeing him compete, but we look forward to seeing how he uses his quick wit and personality as guest host.”
This year, 15 past winners will go head-to-head for the tournament’s grand prize of $250,000 that will be matched and donated to the Hope of the Valley Trebek Center for the Homeless, an office named after the long-lasting host of the show that helps vagrants through different charitable services.
Right now, NFL star Aaron Rodgers is acting as guest host of “Jeopardy!” yet he’ll need to hang up his hosting cap soon to clear a path for an alternate guest judge. In any case, Rodgers recently indicated that he’d take the necessary steps to be made the lasting host of the competition show.
Up until this point, however, the popular game show has not declared any plans to install a permanent host, picking rather to continue to welcome on celebrity guests. In any case, fans as of late appealed to for “Reading Rainbow” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” actor Levar Burton to take on the job.