Mike Richards fired as executive producer of 'Jeopardy' and 'Wheel of Fortune'

The Mike Richards saga seems to have finally reached its conclusion.

Variety obtained an internal memo sent Tuesday (Aug. 31) to staff by Suzanna Prete, the executive vice president of business and strategy for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune stating that Richards has been fired as the executive producer of both television shows:

"I’m writing to let you know that Mike will no longer be serving as EP of Wheel and Jeopardy! effective immediately. 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. That clearly has not happened.

Michael Davies from Embassy Row has agreed to help with production on an interim basis until further notice. Michael and I will work together with all of you in the weeks ahead to ensure that production remains on schedule and we do not miss a beat as we head into the new season.

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. As Ravi mentioned last week, I will be more involved in the day-to-day on our shows moving forward and I am looking forward to working closely with all of you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything.

Sincerely,

Suzanne"

Last Wednesday (Aug. 25), The New York Times reported that Richards was going to remain the executive producer of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune and agreed to attend sensitivity training. That came after the 46-year-old had been named the permanent host of Jeopardy!'s daily syndicated show on Aug. 11, only to step down nine days later in response to past behavior of discrimination and harassment as well as disparaging sexist comments from his time at The Price is Right resurfacing.

CNN was first to report Aug. 23 that Mayim Bialik, who had also been announced as the permanent Jeopardy! host of its primetime and spinoff programming on Aug. 11, was going to temporarily fill in for Richards as the daytime syndicated host.

The future of Jeopardy! initially became vague when Alex Trebek died last November after a battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. The beloved 80-year-old had been the sole host since 1984, and once his final episode aired posthumously in January, the rest of Season 37 was handled by a long list of guest hosts.

When Season 38 premieres Sept. 13, it may feature the five episodes Richards taped before he was ousted.