After Alex Trebek passed away in November, Jeopardy! producers must have hoped that their chosen replacement would rival his 36 year stint as host of the long running quiz show, becoming just as beloved.  Unfortunately, it’s back to the drawing board on that one. Mike Richards, the executive producer who was announced as Trebek’s successor a mere 9 days ago, has stepped down from the role after a long week of scandal reveals and inappropriate comments from a podcast he hosted years ago.  Richards began filming the start of the 38th season on Thursday, and those shows will air for the sake of the contestants.

For the time being, Richards will remain as the executive producer of both Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, but you have to imagine that is a temporary measure as his credibility is shot, especially for whoever ultimately replaces him as host.  I can’t imagine a way this could have been handled worse by Sony Pictures Television, who seemingly did no background investigation on Richards prior to hiring him for either job. Or, even worse, they did and didn’t see a problem until the public was made aware.  His podcast was troublesome enough that when asked to comment on it, he deleted both the episodes and the server that hosted them.

In the long run, this may turn out to be a good thing.  Whoever replaced Trebek was going to be under unbelievable scrutiny from fans and players alike.  Now, whoever ultimately gets the job is replacing Richards, and they really have nowhere to go but up.