Mike Richards To Executive Produce ‘Jeopardy!’ & ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ When Harry Friedman Exits Next Year

Denise Petski

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Mike Richards, the veteran executive producer of The Price is Right and Let’s Make A Deal, will take the helm as executive producer of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! when the shows’ long-time EP/showrunner Harry Friedman departs next year.

Friedman announced on August 1 that he would be stepping down when his contract ends at the conclusion of the shows’ current seasons, capping a remarkable 25-year career at Sony Pictures TV, the shows’ producer.

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Wheel of Fortune is currently in production on the show’s 37th season and Jeopardy! is taping its 36th season; both premiere on Monday, September 9. Last season, Wheel of Fortune reached 25.8M viewers on average each week and Jeopardy! reached 25.0 million.

“Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! are the gold standard of television – exceptional, timeless formats produced by amazing teams,” said Richards.” Alex Trebek, Vanna White and Pat Sajak are incredible hosts and I can’t wait to work side by side with them on these world class franchises. Harry Friedman’s 25-year run can only be described as legendary. I have long been inspired by his hard work and brilliant decision making, and I’m honored to get to work with Harry over the next few months. Thank you to Mike Hopkins and the entire Sony team for this dream opportunity.”

“We are fortunate to have Mike, one of the top game show producers in the business, join the talented teams at Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!,” said Mike Hopkins, Chairman, Sony Pictures Television. “Mike’s experience working with long running franchises like Price Is Right and Let’s Make a Deal make him the ideal successor for our iconic shows. We also look forward to Mike growing our already strong game show business and to developing and producing shows for network, cable, and streaming platforms. We are grateful for the leadership and impeccable direction Harry has so elegantly provided over many years and look forward to the continued success of these beloved shows.”

Richards recently signed a multi-year overall deal with SPT, which is set to begin in September. He has served as executive producer of The Price Is Right for 11 years. A three-time Daytime Emmy Award winner and 17-time nominee, Richards also served as executive producer of Let’s Make a Deal and has produced over 4,000 hours of game show programming. Richards is also known for his work in front of the camera, having hosted five series including Beauty and the Geek, Game Show Network’s 2016–17 version of Divided and the 2012 revival of The Pyramid. He is repped by UTA.

Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! are produced by Sony Pictures Television and distributed by CBS Television Distribution.

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