Sony Pictures Television announced that the late Alex Trebek will be a presence on Jeopardy! up to Christmas Day.
According to People magazine, the last Jeopardy! episodes featuring Trebek are scheduled to air through Dec. 25. Sony Pictures Television did not mention further plans for the show. Trebek's last day of filming was Oct. 29.
Trebek died Sunday, more than 18 months after he revealed in a video message in March 2019 that he had Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, saying, "I'm going to fight this and I'm going to keep working."
Trebek, host of Jeopardy! since 1984, continued taping episodes after rounds of chemotherapy, up to Oct. 29, a mere 10 days before his passing. Working rejuvenated him, Trebek said. He told The New York Times in July, "Oddly enough, when we started taping I suddenly started to regain my strength. It's the strangest thing. It is some kind of an elixir."
The show's 37th season began taping in September. Production was interrupted because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and the show's set was reconfigured during the hiatus to accommodate social distancing.
Sony Pictures Television released a statement Sunday, saying, "Today we lost a legend and a beloved member of the Sony Pictures family. For 37 amazing years, Alex Trebek was that comforting voice, that moment of escape and entertainment at the end of a long, hard day for millions of people around the world."
Source: People