'Jeopardy!' Fans Can't Stop Talking About Savannah Guthrie's First Episode as Guest Host

Selena Barrientos
·3 min read
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Apart from watching Savannah Guthrie on the Today show every morning, fans now have the chance to catch her in the evening as Jeopardy!'s newest guest host.

On Monday, the broadcast journalist made her Jeopardy! debut, taking the reins from Big Bang Theory actress Mayim Bialik who stood at the lectern the last two weeks. Savannah joins a roster of celebrities and Jeopardy! prodigies, including Ken Jennings and Aaron Rogers, who have had the opportunity to honor Alex Trebek’s legacy on the beloved game show.

Despite recently celebrating 10 years on Today, the 49-year-old mother of two immediately noticed how different the two jobs are and admitted to feeling out of her element.

“Jeopardy! and the Today show are, of course, really different,” she said in an exclusive interview with the show. “The Today show is a live news show. It’s four hours long. We often have breaking news. We don’t know what to expect. And when it’s done, it’s done. You kind of just have to roll with it. If you aren’t perfect, if you didn’t say it perfectly, there are no redos. It’s live television.”

She continued: “Jeopardy! is extremely precise. A game is going on and it has to be done with integrity. You can’t mess up. And so, for me, that added an extra level of stress … There are some similarities in the skillset, but this was new and different and challenging.”

After watching her host Jeopardy! for the first time, a lot of folks took to Twitter to share their opinions. “I was pleasantly surprised. Very natural and her interactions with and interest in the contestants seemed genuine,” one person wrote. “Savannah Guthrie is starting off her guest host stint on a good note!” another added. "Savannah, you did a good job. Didn't come across as your first day at all — very comfortable at that podium," someone else said.

What’s more, Savannah’s cohosts from the Today show are also rooting her on. Weatherman Al Roker shared a video on Instagram of himself changing the channel to watch his dear friend: “Yay!! So excited to watch @savannahguthrie hosting the iconic @jeopardy for the next two weeks.” On Savannah’s Instagram post dedicated to Jeopardy!, Sheinelle Jones commented, “🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾.” Carson Daly added, “What can’t you do 🤷🏻♂️💪🏼.”

Understandably, some folks on Twitter expressed their desire for the quiz show to hurry up and name a new permanent host already. According to executive producer and previous guest host Mike Richards, we’re getting close to the decision deadline, which is in late July or early August.

When one of the guest hosts is officially announced as Alex’s successor, they will begin taping the new season of Jeopardy! Until then, there are a handful of famous faces who are scheduled to guest host later on this summer, including Dr. Sanjay Gupta, George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts, LeVar Burton, David Faber and Joe Buck. For now, we'll keep cheering on Savannah!

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