Ken Jennings knows how to joke with “Jeopardy!” fans.
Jennings, 48, will return to the podium late this week after Mayim Bialik hosted the special “High School Reunion Tournament,” which ends March 9.
After the reunion tournament, Jennings episodes will run from March 10 through April 28. After that, he probably won’t return as host of the syndicated episodes until September.
However, Jennings will direct the primetime series ‘Jeopardy! Masters,” featuring six notable “Jeopardy!” champions battling over 10 one-hour episodes. A premiere date has not been announced.
With Bialik, 47, currently hosting the new tournament, Jennings has been on hiatus and fans have been waiting for his return.
A Twitter user asked Jennings what he did in his spare time and the host poked fun at his answer.
“@KenJennings just wondering how you spend your time when you’re not filming, danger,” wrote the fan.
In a tweet, the danger!” legend quipped, “I go in one of those chest freezers from the Alien movies when Mayim hosts, and vice versa.”
While Jennings joked about being put in a freezer, he’s recently given fans a glimpse of what he’s actually been up to in his off-screen time.
He revealed on Twitter this weekend that he has a new book, “100 Places to See After You Die: A Travel Guide to the Afterlife,” due out June 13.
“Exciting announcement: my new book will be released in June! It is a travel guide to the afterlife, from ancient Egypt to The Good Place. So you might want to order it soon, JUST IN CASE,” He wrote.
The danger!” host’s joke comes shortly after fans appeared to be divided over the split of hosting duties announced in a recent episode of the “In Danger!” podcast.
Fans of the beloved quiz show reacted angrily to the scheduling news when it was posted by the Twitter accounts “Ken Jennings is going to host Jeopardy! This week?”
“For the love of God, can we just let Mayim host Celebrity Jeopardy! One of the participants even admitted that her pace and the way she reads the clues is downright bad. There is literally no reason she should be hosting syndicated,” one person suggested.
“Jeopardy, stop trying to make Mayim happen. It’s not going to happen,” joked another.
But not everyone was upset about the schedule.
“Mayim does a great job hosting. Some people just can’t handle a woman who hosts a game show. Looking forward to the Mayim shows,” an admirer testified.
“I’m watching these 2 and they’re great hosts,” one fan fawned.
Bialik and Jennings were officially named hosts in July 2022, following a tumultuous post-Alex Trebek era died of pancreatic cancer in November 2020 at the age of 80. A series of guest hosts took their photos, and producer Mike Richards got the mantle.
Richards eventually resigned shortly after, in August 2021, after reports of previous misogynistic comments surfaced. Bialik and Jennings split their duties after Richards’ brief tenure.
