• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, September 1, 2021

Mike Richards, who created major controversy as the short-lived replacement for Alex Trebeck as host of "Jeopardy!," has now been fired by Sony from his post as executive producer of that game show and "Wheel of Fortune."

Suzanne Prete, executive vice president, business and strategy, “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!,” announced the news in a memo to staff. Michael Davies, executive producer of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," part of Sony's Embassy Row brand, will assist Prete with assuming Richards' production duties on an interim basis.

"I know this has been a challenging time for the entire team, and I want to thank you all for your cooperation and professionalism over these last few weeks," she wrote, adding that she will "be more involved in the day-to-day on our shows moving forward."

“We had hoped that when Mike stepped down from the host position at ‘Jeopardy!’ it would have minimized the disruption and internal difficulties we have all experienced these last few weeks,” Prete wrote. “That clearly has not happened.”

Richards currently has "a rich overall deal at Sony," and discussions on the fate of his relationship at the studio are currently under way," according to Variety.

Just a week ago, Richards was forced to relinquish the much-sought-after "Jeopardy!" host's job just nine days after he had been announced as the choice. That announcement came after a long, complicated selection process involving numerous temporary hosts.

Richards relinquished the host's job "after ugly statements he'd made in an eight-year-old podcast resurfaced," and that followed concerns over the host selection process — "with whispers that Richards, as host, was able to calibrate the search to replace Trebek in his favor," points out Variety. "It also came following the unearthing of discrimination lawsuits that multiple models working on “Price Is Right,” which he had produced at the time, filed in 2010 and 2011."

Sony initially indicated support for Richards staying on in the production role, but already-poor morale on both shows had been worsened by the host debacle, per the report.

As of now, it appears that the five episodes Richards shot during his single day as "Jeopardy!" host will still be aired when the new season starts on Sept. 13.