'Jeopardy!' Guest Host Joe Buck Ready to Face 'Armchair' Critics As His Stint Airs

Jeopardy! guest host Joe Buck is preparing to have his presenting skills analyzed and criticized as his stint on the hit quiz show starts airing from Monday.

The sportscaster is the latest—and the final—in a long line of stars who have stepped in to temporarily helm the syndicated show as producers search for a permanent replacement for Alex Trebek, who passed away in November 2020.

And as he counts down to his first episode hitting screens, Buck took to Twitter on Sunday to reveal that he's ready for the inevitable criticism.

Sharing a link to his new interview with Jeopardy! Buck wrote: "This is the week!!! Hosting @Jeopardy tomorrow through Friday. Excited to see how it came out. Can't wait for all the armchair hosts to tell me how it should be done. Hahahahaha. Oh and I know who wins."

The Fox Sports presenter takes over from David Faber in the role and follows an exhaustive list of stars that includes Mayim Bialik, Katie Couric, LeVar Burton, Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, Savannah Guthrie, and former contestant Ken Jennings.

And Buck said in his Jeopardy! interview that his brief stint on the show has given him a renewed appreciation for Trebek, who hosted the show for 36 years.

"I've been in television for almost 30 years," Buck said. "And I always was in awe of the job that Alex did hosting this show. I think the ease with which he guided contestants through questions, the smile, the warmth, the intellect that came through.

"And now that I've been inside the studio, I have an even greater appreciation for how meticulously awesome Alex Trebek was."

While a number of stars have expressed interest in becoming the new Jeopardy! host—including LeVar Burton, Mayim Bialik and David Faber—it was recently reported that executive producer Mike Richards was a frontrunner for the role.

Richards stood at the lectern on the show for two weeks in February and March 2021. Variety reported last week that he is "clearly" the favorite for the job.

He took over as an executive producer on Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! in 2020, before filling in for Trebek, who had battled pancreatic cancer before his death.

Opening Jeopardy! following Trebek's death, Richards said: "I'm Mike Richards, the executive producer of Jeopardy! Over the weekend, we lost our beloved host Alex Trebek.

"This is an enormous loss for our staff and crew, for his family, and for his millions of fans. He loved this show and everything it stood for.

"In fact, he taped his final episodes less than two weeks ago. He will forever be an inspiration for his constant desire to learn, his kindness, and for his love of his family.

"We will air his final 35 episodes as they were shot. That's what he wanted. On behalf of everyone here at Jeopardy!, thank you for everything Alex. This is Jeopardy!"