JEOPARDY! fans have spotted a pattern with Ken Jennings' hosting skills that "makes him a natural" compared to Mayim Bialik.
Viewers realized where he especially excels on Wednesday.
Ken Jennings, 48, hosted Jeopardy! tonight – he's buttoned up to finish the last week of this exciting season.
Off-stage the show also officially announced its final host decision.
He and Mayim, 46, have "signed deals" as replacements for the great Alex Trebek, the beloved quiz show shared.
The pair, who have been guest hosting since October 2021 and switching off this season, will continue doing so as permanent hosts.
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Amid the hot topic host news, many viewers are simply surprised by Ken.
One observed that his improv skills – granted, he's not a professional actor but a former software engineer – are categorically impressive.
Tonight, he bantered with 2-day champ Ed Coulson and new players Colleen Birney and Brianne Barker "weirdly well," many said.
Colleen shared during the Q&A segment that her dog is Instagram famous, Ed's writing a mystery novel set on a boat.
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New player Brianne eventually won the game with $11.7K.
But many said Ken scored points himself when he cruised through the earlier chatty segment.
'IMRPOV KING!'
"Ken’s improv skills are so good. Why is this man not the full time host?!??" one Twitter user wrote.
"She doesn’t have a feel for the gig. Ken’s a natural, quick on his feet, great sense of humor," wrote another comparing the two hosts.
"He is light years better than Mayim. It's not even close. He does introductions better. Interviews. Improvisations. He definitely responds faster when someone answers something correctly," wrote a third.
Later in the game, Ken remarked he is a "huge TikToker" and then called back to the player with the Insta-famous dog, saying "Colleen, I'm sure your dog is too."
Earlier in July, a player said he was a fan of Ken's when the alum was on the show, and he also displayed some host humility.
During the story segment, the contestant said he "caught every episode" of his 2004 74-game run.
"I have vivid memories of missing the bus because me and my mom were trying to record something on VHS," they said.
Ken turned bright red and smiled as he looked down in surprise.
"So you're also the youngest person that knows how to set a VCR," the host quipped. "That's very exciting, well thank you for watching, I appreciate that."
MAYIM YOUR MANNERS!
Fans also feel like the meet-and-greet portion of the gameshow is not Mayim's strong suit despite being a comedic actress.
During one April game, she dug into a player with less-than-impressive precision.
Contestant Yian, an anesthesiologist from Menlo Park, California, told a story about how mastering a claw arcade machine led to his becoming a doctor.
"That’s pretty awesome, but you didn’t become a surgeon, just an anesthesiologist," Mayim strangely said.
Then, seemingly trying to splice together the contestant's story with his line of work she joked: "So you’re not fully digging into things."
"No," Yian responded with a respectful laugh as a blazer-clad Mayim concluded their exchange by doing a claw motion dismissively.
"Wait, was Mayim just putting anesthesiologists down?" one Twitter user wondered.
"What a nasty comment towards his line of work," noted another.
"Mayim Bialik was putting anesthesiologists down on Jeopardy!" declared a third.
NEXT SEASON UNVEILED
Ken will return when Season 39 starts September, helming its first four months, and Mayim will host "as much as she can" starting January given her Fox sitcom Call Me Kat.
According to EP Mike Davies' announcement, via a lengthy statement to the show's official website – they'll also split specials.
This coming year Ken will "host the inaugural Second Chance competition and the heavily anticipated Tournament of Champions featuring Amy, Matt Amodio, Mattea, Ryan Long, and many, many more," per Mike Davies.
"Mayim will host Celebrity Jeopardy! on ABC in primetime" and "a couple of new tournaments as well as the Jeopardy! National College Championship" he stated.
Many fans have slammed the show as "weak-willed" for not being able to pick one, while others are just happy the smoke has cleared on the host battle.
After the tragic death of longtime host Alex Trebek, who passed away from stage four pancreatic cancer on November 8, 2020, Ken and Mayim took over as presenters of the popular game show.
They stepped up to the joint role following a brief stint from Mike Richards and a fleet of guest hosts who tried at it.
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Jeopardy! has two games left before the season ends.
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