#Alex Trebek’s Final Episode of Jeopardy! Gets Air Date

Alex Trebek’s run on Jeopardy! will come to an end on Christmas Day, it has been announced. 

The beloved host, who died Sunday, filmed episodes weeks in advance, meaning that fans have enough episodes through December 25, 2020. 

Trebek hosted the beloved game show for 36 years. 

Variety reported the late host’s final day in the studio was October 29, just over a week before his death at 80. 

Trebek joined Jeopardy! in 1984 after the series was revived following a five-year hiatus. It propelled the host to stardom and has become a staple in many American homes since. 

Mike Richards, one of Trebek’s co-workers, has opened up about the final day Trebek filmed the series in a new interview with Extra.

“His last day was actually a good day. He sat on the swing with [his wife] Jean… He was coherent…,” he told the outlet.

He explained that Trebek was in good spirits on his last day. 

“In every sense of the word, he peacefully left,” the exec said, noting that many thought Alex would not be ready to return to taping after his recent surgery. 

“He had surgery about three weeks ago and I thought, ‘He’s definitely not gonna be back for these tapings.’ And he would get very stern with me. He’d go, ‘No, I’ll be there.’ And — God love him — he was.”

As for what fans should look out for in these final episodes, the exec said that there is a speech from the host which is “amazing.”

“[It’s] about coming together and being with your family that will resonate even more now,” he said.

In 2019, Trebek revealed to the public that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but continued to host the series as much as he could. 

Trebek revealed in January 2020 that he would inform producers of his exit on the day he taped his final episode. 

“I made this decision a long time ago. What I would do, it would be the same as when I shaved my mustache. I would do it on a whim,” Trebek said.

“On that particular day, I will speak to Harry [Friedman, executive producer], and I will speak to Clay [Jacobsen], our director, and tell them, ‘Give me 30 seconds at the end of the program. That’s all I need to say goodbye, because it’s going to be the last show.’”

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.