Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek started a Twitter war without saying a word as the show debuted its 35th season on September 10 and divided our great nation with the burning question, “to beard or not to beard.”
Trebek unveiled his new look on Twitter and followed that post with a video on the Jeopardy! Instagram page before Monday’s premiere episode with the caption, “It’s time to embark upon a magical journey into Season 35!”
Does this magical journey have something to do with the power his beard has to enrapture fans of the series? Trebek opened up the first show of the season tackling the issue head-on.
“No need to inquire how I spent my summer vacation,” he quipped. “Things got a little out of hand.”
“Hopefully it won’t be a distraction for our players,” he quipped.
The beard even got its own Twitter hashtag “ #Trebeard .”
Jeopardy! fans continue to weigh in on a Twitter poll gauging how fans really feel about Trebek’s new facial follicles.
Currently, fans are looking for the host to keep it up: 68 percent love his new look versus 33 percent opposed.
The last time Trebek shook viewers of the long-running game show was back in 2014 for the show’s 30th anniversary.
At that time, he returned to the infamous mustache he had sported during his earlier years on the series for the first time in 13 years.
To beard, or not to beard: that is the question. Vote now! #AlexTrebeard
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) September 10, 2018
A former Jeopardy! champion weighed in on the great debate with a hilarious comment.
“When everyone thinks you’re gonna hang it up soon but you know it’s merely the beginning of the Bearded Era,” remarked winner Alex Jacob.
When everyone thinks you’re gonna hang it up soon but you know it’s merely the beginning of the Bearded Era pic.twitter.com/nU195oRyLo
— Alex Jacob (@whoisalexjacob) September 6, 2018
Another fan remarked, “Alex Trebek ages backwards. Somebody science on him, like immediately.”
Alex Trebek ages backwards. Somebody science on him, like immediately.
— Super Last Call (@SuperLastCall) September 8, 2018
Trebek was last in the news in July of this year after announcing he may leave Jeopardy! when his contract expires in 2020.
The wait is over, The time is near, Season 35 is here! ? pic.twitter.com/EIifxTzJxQ
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) September 10, 2018
The New York Times reported that Trebek remarked to TMZ that he may or may not leave the series, at the time he was undecided, and suggested two people he saw fit to replace him — neither of whom had been on the radar of most fans of the iconic game show.
He first mentioned Alex Faust, the play-by-play announcer for the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. Trebek also suggested Laura Coates, a legal analyst and frequent on-air personality for CNN.
Alex Trebek has been the host of Jeopardy! since the syndicated debut of America’s Favorite Quiz Show in 1984.
According to the show’s official website , Trebek has won five Daytime Emmy awards for Outstanding Game Show Host as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He also holds the Guinness World Record for Most Game Show Episodes Hosted by the Same Presenter; he has hosted nearly 8,000 episodes of the series thus far.
Trebek was named a member of the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in 2013 and in 2018, he and Jeopardy! were inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
