Robert K S wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 8:20 pm
Xu Donym wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 7:32 pm
I just can't see him becoming host of J! while continuing as Executive Producer of both shows.
Sorry to be contradictory without much to back it up, but I doubt hosting would make it any harder on him to do the rest of his existing job. The
Wheel tape days are always different from the
J! tape days and so it's like having two part-time jobs that never overlap in their time demands. And he wouldn't need to cede any of his oversight of the writing process.
Like many others, I think there are better candidates than Richards. He's definitely a "meh" choice. And not necessarily "meh" as in "safe".
There's nothing wrong with being contradictory; we're all just speculating based on limited information.
If Richards really does get the job, though, it may hint that the decision came from Sony executives in Japan rather than the USA. After the Art Fleming years and the Alex Trebek years, and with several female and non-white guest hosts giving excellent performances, we might think that the environment in the USA would lean toward choosing an excellent non-white and/or non-male if one is available and might help grow the J! audience. I am one of those who thought Richards gave a completely acceptable performance as host. But does he have the personality to build a new/growing audience? I don't think so. Bialik could do that, and while I imagine her age works against her so could Roberts. For that matter, so could Rogers. A choice of Richards would strike me as an admission that J! is on life-support and will need some time off the air, as between the Fleming and Trebek eras, before it can spring to life again with renewed freshness and cultural relevance.
Remember, too, that Richards has been at the helm as Executive Producer during these last couple of years when the quality of clues has declined so visibly. If he's selected as host, it is highly unlikely that clue-writing will improve, which will further damage the show, no matter who's the host.