Alex Trebek's Final Jeopardy Episode Will Air on Christmas Day

Jeopardy! fans are heartbroken over the passing of Alex Trebek, after the longtime host and pop culture icon passed away on Sunday at the age of 80. In addition to mourning Trebek - and celebrating the profoundly impactful life he has had - many have wondered what the future will hold for Jeopardy! itself. Given the fact that the long-running game show films far in advance, it was safe to assume that there would still be new Trebek-hosted episodes in the coming weeks -- something that Sony Pictures Television recently confirmed. According to a new report from The Wrap, Trebek's final episode of Jeopardy! will air on Christmas Day, Friday, December 25th. These final episodes were taped on October 29th, ten days prior to Trebek's passing.

It is unclear at this point what the future of Jeopardy! will be beyond that Christmas episode, especially as Sony Pictures Television does not plan to announce a new host at this time. Some on social media have speculated that Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings could ultimately take on the role, especially as he has begun to serve as a consulting producer in the series' most recent season.

Trebek hosted Jeopardy! for over three decades, continuing to do so even after publicly announcing his cancer diagnosis in March of 2019. In the year and a half that followed, Trebek continued to update fans on his condition -- as well as the emotional struggles he felt while undergoing that journey.

"Now I'd be lying if I said the journey had been an easy one," Trebek previously shared in a video update. "There were some good days but a lot of not-so-good days. I joked with friends that the cancer won't kill me, the chemo treatments will. There were moments of great pain, days when certain bodily functions no longer functioned and sudden, massive attacks of great depression that made me wonder if it really was worth fighting on. But I brushed that aside quickly because that would have been a massive betrayal - a betrayal of my wife and soulmate, Jean, who has given her all to help me survive. It would have been a betrayal of other cancer patients who have looked to me as an inspiration and a cheerleader of sorts, of the value of living and hope, of my faith in God and the millions of prayers that have been said on my behalf."

Our thoughts are with Trebek's family, friends, and fans at this time.