Mike Richards (television personality)

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For other people named Mike Richards, see Mike Richards (disambiguation).
Mike Richards
Mike Richards (Television Personality), Valder Beebe Show (January 2017).jpg
Richards in 2017
Born (1975-07-05) July 5, 1975 (age 46)
Burbank, California, U.S.
Alma materPepperdine University
Occupation
  • Television personality
  • Producer
Spouse(s)Stephanie Richards
Children2

Michael Richards (born July 5, 1975[1]) is an American former television producer, game show host, and television personality. Richards was executive producer of the American television game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune from 2020 to 2021.

He initially succeeded Alex Trebek as the third host of the daily syndicated version of Jeopardy! but resigned as host after hosting only five episodes. The resignation came in the wake of ongoing criticism over offensive comments that he made before hosting the show, as well as concerns about a wrongful termination lawsuit from a model on The Price Is Right.[2]

Career[]

Richards was the second host of Beauty and the Geek and produced numerous game shows, including Weakest Link.[3] He later hosted seasons of High School Reunion.

Until the end of the 2018–19 season, Richards was the executive producer of The Price Is Right and Let's Make a Deal.[3] He was a candidate to host The Price is Right before Drew Carey was chosen.[4] In interviews of those two shows, Richards was described as "exclusionary and dismissive of longtime show employees"; he fired announcer Rich Fields and held on-air auditions, similar to the ones he later used on Jeopardy!, to hire George Gray as Fields's replacement, also dismissing longtime producer (and longtime right-hand man of Bob Barker) Roger Dobkowitz.[5] He often neglected Deal, to the point where one post-producer jokingly reintroduced themself at a meeting; they were soon fired.[6] Richards hosted GSN's 2012 revival of The Pyramid[7] and the network's 2017–18 version of Divided.[8]

During this period, Richards hosted a podcast, The Randumb Show, which was promoted as a look at the production of Price. Richards "repeatedly used offensive language and disparaged women's bodies", according to reporting by The Ringer's Claire McNear,[6] and the Anti-Defamation League criticized Richards's disparaging stereotyping of women, Jews and Asians on the podcast.[9] Asked for comment in 2021, Richards apologized for the material and took the podcast offline.[6][10]

Wrongful termination lawsuit[]

Richards was the subject of a wrongful termination lawsuit in 2010. Brandi Cochran, a model on The Price Is Right, alleged that CBS and FremantleMedia discriminated against her by firing her after she became pregnant with twins. The Hollywood Reporter stated that Richards made a disparaging comment about her pregnancy at a 2008 party, and that he claimed that she was fired from the show because he thought that she "would not take us to great".[2][11]

Antisemitic remarks[]

The Anti-Defamation League has called for an investigation into Richards's "pattern" of offensive comments. In one instance, Richards referenced the stereotype that Jewish people have big noses, saying in Pig Latin, "Ixnay on the ose-nay. She's not an ew-jay."[10]

At Sony Pictures Television[]

Richards left both Price and Deal in 2019 and joined Sony Pictures Television,[12] where he was assigned to the ABC primetime return of Who Wants to be a Millionaire as an executive producer alongside host Jimmy Kimmel and Michael Davies for the nine-episode first season of the show during the 2019–20 season.[13] Richards also serves as executive producer for the 2021 GSN revival series of Chain Reaction.[14][15] For the 2020–21 season, Richards succeeded Harry Friedman as executive producer of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy![16]

After Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek died in 2020, Richards appeared at the start of the November 9 episode to pay tribute to him.[17] He later filled in for two weeks as a guest host of the show, with his first episode airing on February 22, 2021.[18] On August 4, it was reported that Richards had entered "advanced negotiations" to become the permanent host, though with other candidates still in contention.[19][20] After that announcement, a lawsuit filed against Richards and others during his tenure as an executive producer on The Price is Right resurfaced, causing controversy.[20][21][22] On August 11, it was announced that Richards would succeed Trebek as host of the daily show, with Jeopardy! guest host Mayim Bialik hosting future prime-time specials and spinoffs.[23][24] But on August 20, it was announced that he would step down after offensive comments he had made in the past emerged.[25][6] The five episodes Richards filmed the previous day, the show's first day of production on the new season,[26] aired in September.[27]

Despite speculation that he would resign as executive producer of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! after the scandal, Richards retained that role at both shows with the full backing of Sony Pictures and the head of its television division, Ravi Ahuja.[28] On August 31, 2021, over a week after Richards resigned as permanent host, he was fired as executive producer of both Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Michael Davies from Embassy Row has served as interim executive producer since Richards's departure.[29]

Personal life[]

Richards was born in Burbank, California, and attended Pepperdine University. He and his wife, Stephanie, have two sons.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Jeryl Brunner (August 5, 2021). "Producer Mike Richards in 'Advanced Negotiations' to Become Next Jeopardy! Host". Parade. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Eriq Gardner (November 21, 2012). "Price Is Right Model Wins Discrimination Lawsuit". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Cristina Kinon (August 4, 2009). "Inner Tube: Wayne Brady will host new version of Let's Make a Deal on CBS this fall". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  4. ^ Stuart Levine (August 3, 2008). "Price names executive producer". Variety. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
  5. ^ Lesley Goldberg (August 31, 2021). "Before Jeopardy, Mike Richards Left Tumultuous Legacy at Price Is Right". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d Claire McNear (August 18, 2021). ""A Smile With Sharp Teeth": Mike Richards's Rise to Jeopardy! Host Sparks Questions About His Past". The Ringer. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  7. ^ "GSN Announces Premiere of The Pyramid on Monday, September 3" (Press release). GSN Corporate. July 12, 2012. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  8. ^ "GSN Debuts New Original Game Show Series Divided with Season 4 Premiere of Idiotest on Thursday, January 19" (Press release). GSN. December 12, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2021 – via The Futon Critic.
  9. ^ James Hibberd (August 19, 2021). "Mike Richards Starts Filming Jeopardy! as ADL Calls for Investigation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Bruce Haring (August 19, 2021). "Anti-Defamation League Calls For Investigation Of Jeopardy! Host Mike Richards' Comments". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  11. ^ Savannah Walsh (August 9, 2021). "Jeopardy! Front-Runner Mike Richards: Past Lawsuits Don't Reflect Who I Am". Vanity Fair. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  12. ^ Joe Otterson (June 26, 2019). "Price Is Right, Let's Make a Deal Executive Producer Mike Richards to Exit for Overall Deal at Sony (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  13. ^ "Emmy(R) Award-Winning Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Returns to ABC Prime Time, Hosted by Emmy Award-Winning Jimmy Kimmel" (Press release). ABC. January 8, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2021 – via The Futon Critic.
  14. ^ "Game Show Network Greenlights New Edition of Classic Word Association Game Show Chain Reaction" (Press release). GSN. November 2, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2021 – via The Futon Critic.
  15. ^ Erik Pedersen (November 2, 2020). "Chain Reaction Revival Set At Game Show Network With Returning Host Dylan Lane; Mike Richards Set As EP". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  16. ^ Denise Petski (August 29, 2019). "Mike Richards To Executive Produce Jeopardy! & Wheel Of Fortune When Harry Friedman Exits Next Year". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  17. ^ Alexandra Del Rosario (November 9, 2020). "Jeopardy! Executive Producer Mike Richards Pays Tribute To Alex Trebek With Speech & Moment Of Silence Before Monday's Episode – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  18. ^ "Jeopardy! announces executive producer Mike Richards as new guest host". WDJT-TV. February 22, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  19. ^ Cynthia Littleton (August 4, 2021). "Mike Richards in Advanced Negotiations to Become Permanent Host of Jeopardy! (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  20. ^ a b Nellie Andreeva (August 9, 2021). "Mike Richards Addresses Allegations In Price Is Right Lawsuit As He Eyes Jeopardy! Hosting Job". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  21. ^ Tyler Aquilina (August 6, 2021). "Past discrimination allegations against reported Jeopardy host frontrunner Mike Richards resurface". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  22. ^ Cynthia Littleton (August 9, 2021). "Mike Richards Says Price Is Right Lawsuit Claims Don't 'Reflect the Reality of Who I Am'". Variety. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  23. ^ Nellie Andreeva (August 11, 2021). "Jeopardy!: Mike Richards To Host Syndicated Show, Mayim Bialik To Host Primetime & Spinoff Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  24. ^ "Sony Pictures Television Names Mayim Bialik and Mike Richards as Jeopardy! Hosts" (Press release). Sony Pictures Television. August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021 – via The Futon Critic.
  25. ^ James Hibberd (August 20, 2021). "Mike Richards Out as Jeopardy! Host After Podcast Comments". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  26. ^ Bruce Haring (August 18, 2021). "New Jeopardy! Host Mike Richards Apologizes For Sexist Podcast Comments On Eve Of New Season Taping". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  27. ^ Tony Maglio; Tim Baysinger (August 20, 2021). "Jeopardy! Will Air New Episodes Already Shot With Short-Lived Host Mike Richards". TheWrap. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  28. ^ Michael M. Grynbaum; Nicole Sperling; Julia Jacobs (August 25, 2021). "He's No Longer Host. But Mike Richards Is Still Running Jeopardy!". The New York Times. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  29. ^ Michael Schneider (August 31, 2021). "Mike Richards Fired as Executive Producer of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune". Variety. Retrieved August 31, 2021.

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