Ken Jennings takes an unexpected dig on 'Jeopardy' over the new Pope selection: 'Maybe try a...'

'Jeopardy!' is all about clues that are about historic events, current affairs, and famous personalities, apart from pop culture. Recently, the show's host, Ken Jennings, decided to throw shade at 'Jeopardy!' in the wake of the passing of Pope Francis. The unexpected moment was witnessed by users of the social media platform called BlueSky, during a discussion about whether the new Pope can be elected in a manner that game shows are conducted.

The process of the election of a new Pope is simple but lengthy. The cardinals around the globe gather in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. The meeting is called the Papal conclave. Here, the cardinals vote on who should be the next pope. If any cardinal receives 75 votes, they win the election, as that is the required majority. Until the election is complete, the doors of the chapel remain shut. Executive Producer of comedian John Oliver‘s "Last Week Tonight," Tim Carvell, however, had a different proposal for it, according to a TV Insider report. “I’m just saying, maybe try a rotating cast of celebrity Cardinals each doing it for a week until you find the one you like,” he posted on his BlueSky handle. This was obviously a reference to what the showrunners of “Jeopardy!” did after Alex Trebek passed away.

The show was bringing in hosts on rotation for several episodes before Jennings and Mayim Bialik were finalized as the permanent hosts. Bialik was later relieved of her duties, making the 74-straight-games-winner the sole host. Musical comedic duo Paul and Storm quoted the post and wrote, “Unfortunately, the executive producer of the Vatican just appointed himself the new pope.” That happened on “Jeopardy!” as well in 2021, when the executive producer, Mike Richards, was chosen as the host for a short time.

Jennings was aware of all these developments, and he just could not help himself. He reposted the conversation on his handle. Paul and Storm saw this, took a picture of it, and posted it in the comments section of their post and wrote, “Mission accomplished.” The current “Jeopardy!” host took stock of this and commented, “How could I not?” This was all done for fun, and everyone knew that.

However, the game show’s host hiring process after Trebek’s passing had come under scrutiny at the time, even from former contestants. James Holzhauer was one of the most successful contestants on the show, and he took a jibe at the show runners regarding the matter after Ryan Seacrest was named the new host of “Wheel of Fortune.”

“Wheel of Fortune went about this all wrong. First you subject the contestants and viewers to an endless parade of temps who don’t prepare before hosting. Then the producer in charge of the search says ‘Actually, *I* would be the perfect host.’ Then ‘jk we have two hosts now’,” he had tweeted. Many fans agreed with him, and it wasn’t a good look for “Jeopardy!”