After dramatic exit, Mike Richards’ very brief ‘Jeopardy!’ hosting gig starts tonight

I’ll take ousted “Jeopardy!” hosts for $200, Mike.

The very few “Jeopardy!” episodes hosted by Mike Richards — the game show’s former executive producer turned host (promptly turned ex-host and ex-executive producer) — will start airing Monday on ABC at 10:30 p.m. Pacific.

In early August, Richards and “The Big Bang Theory” actor Mayim Bialik were named the successors to late host Alex Trebek, but Richards stepped down from the gig within weeks amid a public outcry over offensive remarks he made about women, Jewish people and little people on a podcast he hosted in 2013 and 2014, as well as other legal woes.

Weeks later, Sony Pictures Television, which produces “Jeopardy!,” also removed Richards from his post as executive producer.

Season 38 of the iconic trivia show will go on this week with Richards at the lectern that was long-occupied by legendary host Trebek, who died in November. The season opener debuts locally on KABC at a later time than usual due to Monday Night Football, which has the Baltimore Ravens facing off with the Las Vegas Raiders.

“Jeopardy!” will return to its regular 7 p.m. Pacific time slot on the network Tuesday. (The syndicated show airs on other networks in other markets.)

The 42-time Emmy-winning quiz show, which is taped in advance, recorded five episodes with Richards at the helm, The Times confirmed Monday. They will air this week through Friday and begin with PhD student Matt Amodio’s winning run — an 18-game winning streak that totals $574,80 going into the premiere episode.

Amodio is currently in third place on the show’s all-time highest winnings list, coming in behind James Holzhauer ($2,462,216) and Ken Jennings ($2,520,700).

Amodio will be one of the first three contestants to compete on the newly renamed Alex Trebek Stage at Sony Pictures Studios, the show announced Monday. The stage was formerly known as Stage 10 and was renamed to honor the iconic host for his 8,200-episode run.

In negotiations to replace Trebek earlier this summer, Richards became a trivia answer in his own right. He was forced to do damage control over reports on his past workplace behavior while running “The Price Is Right,” including three lawsuits alleging discrimination and gender-based harassment when he was executive producer for the CBS daytime game show from 2008 to 2018.

“Jeopardy!” enlisted a number of guest hosts — including Bialik, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, NBC’s “Today” cohost Savannah Guthrie, actor LeVar Burton and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers — following Trebek’s death from pancreatic cancer. The guest stints were largely seen as auditions but also served as a celebration of Trebek’s legacy and raised more than $3 million for charity.

Reps for Sony Pictures Television did not respond to The Times’ request for further comment Monday.