Mike Richards Fired As 'Jeopardy!' Executive Producer

One week after he voluntarily withdrew as the new host of the long-running game show “Jeopardy!” amid a growing controversy over his past behavior, Mike Richards has been fired as the executive producer of that program.

What Happened: “Jeopardy!” is a production of Sony Pictures Television, a division of Sony Group Corporation SONY. According to a Variety report, Richards was also fired by Sony as executive producer of another long-running game show, “Wheel of Fortune.”

Suzanne Prete, Sony Pictures Television’s executive vice president for business and strategy, announced Richards’ termination in an internal memo.

“We had hoped that when Mike stepped down from the host position at ‘Jeopardy!’ it would have minimized the disruption and internal difficulties we have all experienced these last few weeks,” Prete wrote. “That clearly has not happened.”

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Why It Happened: Richards was named to replace the late Alex Trebek as the host of the syndicated version of “Jeopardy!” after an extensive talent audition of celebrity guest hosts. But while Richards’ star appeared to be rising, stories of sexual harassment complaints against him from the previous decade and recordings of offensive comments made against women and minority groups surfaced.

Richards completed production as host for five episodes of the show’s new season, which is slated to begin Sept. 13, but it is unclear if those episodes will air.

Actress Mayim Bialik, who was named to host “Jeopardy!” primetime specials and a new spinoff series, was brought in as a temporary host of the syndicated show. However, Sony has opted to test additional guest hosts rather than permanently assign Bialik the role once held by Trebek.