Ken Jennings reveals the unexpected reason why he hopes to ‘host Jeopardy! long enough’

Ken Jennings took to Instagram to share the unexpected reason he hopes to host Jeopardy! ‘long enough’ and it’s all to do with something behind-the-scenes

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Ken Jennings has revealed the actual reason he plans to stay at Jeopardy!

As the 51-year-old host heads back to the studio after the hit game show’s summer break, he took to Instagram with a behind the scenes clip of a desk with a label maker.

Just after sharing a major career update, he has assured his fans that he will not be leaving Jeopardy! as he said, “Really hoping to host Jeopardy! long enough that they let me play with the backstage label maker. #labelmaker.”

Fans made sure he knew he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon as long as it’s up to them.

One said, “You’ll be the host as long as you want to be, you’re doing an excellent job!”

Another said, “Wishing you good luck”

“I hope so,” a third added.

TV Insider recently asked Ken how long he actually wants to stay at Jeopardy!

He revealed, “I have no plans to hang it up.”

“The last host worked into his 80s. Traditionally, it’s not a job you retire from. I didn’t know at the time, but now that I have a few years under my belt, I think I understand why Alex [Trebek] wanted to do it,” he said.

“It’s just such an incredibly fun job,” the host added. “You’re playing along with the smartest folks and getting to see them do their thing up close. I really feel very lucky that I’m still part of the Jeopardy! family after all these years.”

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Despite his love for the show, he still does believe there are ways to make the show better.

“I do miss, and I don’t know how many decades it’s been, but there used to be a thing where the dollar amounts would appear on the board and the sound effect would be like ‘beep boop boop beep boop boop’ and we don’t have time for that sound effect anymore, apparently, but I miss it.”

“I feel like our ratings would probably double just from that,” he claimed. “I’m not an expert, but I’m just spitballing. I think we would double our ratings if we had the dollar amount sound effect back.”

Before Ken joined on as the sole host in December of 2023, he was a big fan of the show. He was a previous Jeopardy! champion who won 74 consecutive games in 2004.