Former Jeopardy! Producer Mike Richards Opens Up About Being Fired After 1 Day on the Job (Exclusive)

Mike Richards certainly knew he had big shoes to fill when he was elected as the new permanent member Danger! host in August 2021, replacing the late Alex Trebek, who died of pancreatic cancer nine months earlier.

But what he it is not It was known how the public would react to the news that he was taking office after it was announced – or that he would only last one day on the job before it all came crashing down.

“We never talked to potential hosts to replace Alex after we found out he was sick,” Richards, 48, tells PEOPLE about the search for a new host. “Such conversation would be disrespectful.”

Richards, a longtime game show producer who was brought in at the time to replace longtime producer Harry Friedman in 2020, adds, “But we had we talked about people coming in and hosting guests if Alex got too sick, but we always knew Alex would be back until the day he decided he couldn’t.”

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In fact, Trebek continued to host the show for months despite undergoing treatment and being incredibly ill for much of the time — something that thrilled Richards.

“I don’t think I’ll ever see anything like it again,” he says of Trebek’s strength. “I’ve never seen anybody in so much pain or sick in my life, let alone go out and play five perfect games a day.”

Alex Trebek on ‘Jeopardy!’ Eric McCandless via Getty Images

But in the end, Trebek decided to retire from the show to be with his family and continue his treatment in peace. After he died in October 2020, Richards says showrunners decided to try out guest hosts, knowing they couldn’t replace Trebek overnight.

“Actually I thought we should just the name of the new host,” says Richards. “But when Alex passed away, it was hard for everyone. Danger! the fans, the country… there was a whole staff of people where he was the only boss they ever knew. He had a place in everyone’s heart, and while we all knew he was sick, his passing was very sudden, if that makes sense. It seemed to happen quickly. We were all legitimately in mourning.”

Alex Trebek wanted to be remembered as a “loving wife and father” before his death

Richards says testing the host’s guests would be a good way to figure out who he is Danger! the crowd was a little better, especially since they were thinking of shaking things up a bit.

“We could find out if they like a Katie Couric guy, or maybe Anderson Cooper or Mayim Bialik,” Richards says, adding that he assumed they would automatically choose current host Ken Jennings.

Instead, he says, a firm that specializes in focus groups was hired to help make the decision. “ESPN sportswriter Joe Buck was the quickest to pick it up,” Richards says, noting that hosting Danger! is deceptively difficult. “Alex made it look easy because he was so naturally gifted.”

As for the other host guests, he calls Robin Roberts one of the nicest people he’s ever met, and says Couric, 67, also did a great job.

“The show had a different feel with Katie Couric,” he recalls. “She was impressed with everyone’s knowledge. I always wondered if it was a missed opportunity, restarting the show with her, a completely different host.”

He also notes that football star Aaron Rodgers really wanted the job because he was a personal fan of the show. “Aaron Rodgers was definitely the most prepared,” Richards says of the Jets quarterback. “I was blown away by it, the intensity with which he prepared, and he was so nice to everyone on the staff. But at the end of the day, I was worried about his other job, which he does at a pretty high level. I was like, ‘How are you going to handle this with football schedule?’ He said, ‘You’ll figure it out!'”

From the left: ‘Danger!’ guest hosts Katie Couric, Mayim Bialik, Aaron Rodgers and Bill Whitaker. Roy Rochlin/Getty; Rodin Eckenroth/Getty; Jason Kempin/Getty; John Lamparski/WireImage

Because Richards had experience with guesting on the air, like in a reality show Beauty and the nerdNew Year’s Eve Rocking Eve 2005 (when he worked for Dick Clark Productions), too The million dollar pyramid and Divided on GSN, says he was thrown into the mix of guest hosts.

He says the testing group said he did well – but when he was offered the job, he couldn’t believe it.

“No one was more surprised than me,” he says. “They said to me, ‘We’d like you to host the syndicated version Danger!‘ I paused and said, ‘Oh, wow. Thank you. What is the media plan?’ Because I was very concerned that this would be as closely watched as the presidential election. There was a widespread belief that whoever gets the job first won’t make it.”

He didn’t make a mistake. “Everyone was so mad because it looked like I walked into the room and picked myself up,” he explains. “And that doesn’t happen on television, but I realized that’s what the outside looks like.”

About two weeks later, Richards stepped up to the podium and began his first day on the job. “I was a host for one day,” he says.

Then the Anti-Defamation League called for an investigation into Richards after an article was published on Ringer.com, noting that Richards had said disparaging things about marginalized communities while hosting his podcast. Random Show in 2014.

Mike Richards Out as ‘Jeopardy!’ Executive producer after losing hosting amid controversy

At the time, Richards offered a public apology, telling PEOPLE in a statement, “It’s humbling to face a terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment, thoughtlessness and insensitivity from nearly a decade ago. Looking back now, there’s no apology, of course, for the comments I made on this podcast and I’m deeply sorry.”

Mike Richards on ‘Jeopardy!’ Carol Kaelson/Jeopardy Productions

At the same time, it also came to light that while he was an executive producer in the The The price is appropriate, was named in former wrongful termination and discrimination lawsuits filed by the show’s models. He says he cooperated fully with the ADL investigation.

“I told them I would answer everything. I’m an open book, proud of what I’ve done. I’m proud of my results as a boss,” he recalls. He adds: “It was insinuated that I was personally sued for sexual harassment. I never was, but that didn’t matter.” (Richards eventually dropped the lawsuit.)

The damage is done. Richards left his position in Danger!, and says the consequences have been both painful and terrifying when it comes to the hatred he and his family have received. He notes that it was COVID, that the country was divided over everything, from politics to vaccines, and that he definitely bore the brunt of many people’s anger.

He also says that a lot of what was written about him was half-true or taken out of context. “But by then everyone was thinking, ‘Oh, he’s just a terrible person.'” He adds: “That was the price you pay for being thrust into the zeitgeist at a very inopportune time.”

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Since leaving the show as both host and executive producer, Richards says he spends most of his time with his family. “I spent a lot of time thinking about everything that happened,” he shares. “I mean, it was a real firestorm that consumed my family.”

As for why he’s speaking out now, two years after it happened, he says he’s come to terms with the cancellation — and hopes for a more open discourse moving forward.

Ken Jennings hosts ‘Celebrity Jeopardy!’

Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images

“The reason I’m speaking out now is because I feel I can be a force for good in terms of having open, honest conversations,” he says. “We can all disagree about a lot of things. We can disagree about politics, we can disagree about who hosts Jeopardy!. We can’t agree on liking the finale Danger! a clue. And we should. But I felt there was a rush to judgement, and a lot of people were happy to say, ‘I got you’.”

But he is not bitter. He says he thinks Jennings makes a great host, noting, “I always thought Ken was that guy.”

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For now, he’s working on packaging and selling more shows and says he’s had more than one person tell him he should write a book about what really goes on behind the scenes at the games because he has stories.

“If I were to write a book, it would be as a fan,” he explains of getting the chance to work with people like Dick Clark, Bob Barker, Monty Hall, Pat Sajak and of course, Trebek. “Unless it’s about those people? I’m not interested in them.”

Sure, he’s still presenting game show concepts, but as for getting back on the podium? He doesn’t chase it.

“If I were to propose a show and someone asked me: ‘Would you be its host?’ I say, only if you think I’m the right man for the job. I don’t care if you have someone else in mind,” he says.

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Danger! airs weekdays at 7:00 PM ET on ABC.

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