Mike Richards

Michael Richards (born July 5, 1975

On May 20, 2025, it was announced that Richards would join The Daily Wire and would become its president and chief content officer (CCO) following the exit of former president Jeremy Boreing in March 2025. Richards would become the CEO of The Daily Wire on May 20, 2026, exactly one year after he joined the company.

Early life Richards was born on July 5, 1975, in Burbank, California, and attended Pepperdine University.

Career

Early career Richards began his career in college, where he created, wrote, produced, and hosted a weekly late-night comedy talk show called The Randumb Show at Pepperdine University. The show featured celebrity guests including Kim Fields, Casey Kasem and Anson Williams.

Richards was the second host of Beauty and the Geek and produced numerous game shows, including Weakest Link. He later hosted seasons of High School Reunion on The WB.

During his early career, Richards was vice president of development and current programs for Dick Clark Productions.

CBS: The Price Is Right and Let's Make a Deal From 2009 to 2019, Richards was the executive producer of The Price Is Right and Let's Make a Deal. He was also a candidate to host The Price Is Right in 2007 before Drew Carey was chosen. He fired announcer Rich Fields and held on-air auditions, similar to the ones he later used on Jeopardy!, to hire George Gray as Fields' replacement. Richards also dismissed longtime producer, and longtime friend of Bob Barker, Roger Dobkowitz. Richards often neglected Deal and was frequently absent from day-to-day operations. A post-producer was fired after sarcastically making an introduction that drew attention to Richards' absences. after which Richards apologized for the material and took the podcast offline.

Richards was the subject of two wrongful termination lawsuits from models on The Price Is Right; one lawsuit was by Brandi Cochran, who alleged that CBS and FremantleMedia discriminated against her by firing her after she became pregnant with twins, and another was by Lanisha Cole, who claimed that Richards and fellow producer Adam Sandler (not to be confused with actor and comedian Adam Sandler) berated her in front of her peers and wrongfully terminated her. The Hollywood Reporter stated that Richards made a disparaging comment about Cochran's pregnancy at a 2008 party,

GSN: The Pyramid and Divided Richards hosted GSN's 2012 revival of The Pyramid and the network's American version of Divided, which aired on the network from 2017 to 2018.

Sony Pictures Television: Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! Richards left The Price is Right and Let's Make a Deal in 2019 and joined Sony Pictures Television, where he was assigned to the ABC primetime return of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire as an executive producer alongside host Jimmy Kimmel and Michael Davies for the nine-episode first season of the show during the 2019–20 season. Richards also served as the executive producer for the 2021 GSN revival series of Chain Reaction. For the 2020–21 season, Richards succeeded Harry Friedman as the executive producer of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.

After Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek died on November 8, 2020, Richards appeared at the start of the November 9 episode to pay tribute to him. Richards later filled in for two weeks as a guest host of the show, with his first episode airing on February 22, 2021. On August 4, it was reported that Richards had entered "advanced negotiations" to become the permanent host, though with other candidates still in contention. After that announcement, a lawsuit filed against Richards and others during his tenure as the executive producer of The Price Is Right resurfaced, causing controversy. On August 11, it was announced that Richards would succeed Trebek as host of the daily show, with the Jeopardy! guest host, actress Mayim Bialik, hosting future prime-time specials and spinoffs. However, nine days later, it was announced that Richards would step down after offensive comments he had made in the past emerged. aired in September to kick off the show's 38th season.

Richards initially remained executive producer of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! after resigning as host, with the backing of Sony Pictures and the head of its television division, Ravi Ahuja. However, on August 31, a week and a half after Richards resigned as permanent host, he was fired as executive producer of both shows. Michael Davies from Embassy Row served as interim executive producer for Jeopardy! following Richards's departure, #tag:ref|Despite claims that Michael Davies would serve as an interim executive producer of Wheel of Fortune after Mike Richards' departure, he never actually assumed that role, with the show's senior producer Steve Schwartz serving as an uncredited interim executive producer for the rest of the show's 39th season before settling with Bellamie Blackstone in the 40th season. On March 23, 2022, it was announced that Bellamie Blackstone would take over the executive producer role for Wheel of Fortune. Bialik and Ken Jennings were eventually chosen as co-hosts for the syndicated version of Jeopardy! on July 27, 2022, with Jennings eventually being named the sole host in December 2023.

In a March 2024 interview with People magazine, Richards revealed that after being fired, he spent a lot of time with family reflecting on what happened due to hate his family received in the wake of the controversy over his past behavior. Richards also revealed that he was also working on packaging and selling more shows at the time.

Personal life Richards and his wife, Stephanie, have two sons.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 2003 The Other Half Himself 1 episode 2004 Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve 2005 Correspondent New Year's Rockin' Eve 2005 Correspondent 2006–2008 Beauty and the Geek Host 31 episodes Dallies Host 23 episodes 2008 High School Reunion Host 4 episodes 2009–2013 The Bold and the Beautiful Thad/Interviewer 2 episodes 2012 The Pyramid Host 40 episodes 2013 The 40th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Himself 2016 The 43rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Himself 2017 WGN Morning News Himself 1 episode The Talk Himself 1 episode Hollywood Today Live Himself 1 episode Divided Host 105 episodes Home & Family Himself 2 episodes 2018 The 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Red Carpet Live Himself The 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Himself Cover Story Himself 1 episode Unsung Hollywood Himself 1 episode 2020–2021 Jeopardy! Host 15 episodes, also executive producer Entertainment Tonight Himself 2 episodes Today Himself 2 episodes 2021 GMA3: What You Need to Know Himself 1 episode Accolades