Jeopardy! ace Ken Jennings – who is currently back in the game for a $2 million "Ultimate Tournament of Champions" – has another new gig up his sleeve.
Comedy Central has signed the Salt Lake City software engineer (who won more than $2.5 million over six months last year during his 74-game winning streak) to host a new game show being developed by Who Wants to Be a Millionaire producer Michael Davies.
"We're hoping that he does as well as he's done in the past," said Lauren Corrao, chief of development at Comedy Central.
Due to fears of the name and idea being swiped by competitors, Corrao declined to give details about the show, but said that it's "really straightforward and simple" and Jennings will have a comic co-host.
The brainiac and comedian combo sounds a bit like Comedy Central's Win Ben Stein's Money, which ended in 2003. But, "I guarantee it will feel very, very different," Corrao said. The premiere is expected later this year or early next.
For Jennings, who turned 31 on Monday, it's been a busy year. The proposed program goes along with the upcoming board game Can You Beat Ken?, a Quizzology CD trivia game and a book he's writing that's due out next year, reports the Associated Press. Jennings has also appeared in commercials hawking such products as Cingular cell phone service.
He also appeared on Monday night's Jeopardy! – and placed third, though he still remains in the competition. Fellow player Brad Rutter won $18,400; Jerome Vered, $16,400; and Jennings, $16,000.
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