‘Jeopardy!’ Guest Host David Faber Breaks Down Matt Amodio’s Risky Daily Double, Alex Trebek Comparisons, and More

When CNBC anchor David Faber took the Jeopardy! stage earlier this week, audiences had no idea who he was. But Faber doesn’t mind — in fact, he says that sort of fan feedback is one of his two favorite types of reactions to receive. His other favorite? Being compared to the late Alex Trebek, of course. Thanks to his background in broadcast TV and understated persona on-air, Faber gets the comparisons.

“It’s been very nice, obviously, to watch all of the positive comments pouring in,” Faber says of the tweets. “But I have to say, it’s not like I monitored them for the other guest hosts, so I have no way of measuring if that’s typical or people are being nicer to me.”

(Note: Jeopardy! viewers were quick to slam the current champ for his bizarre answering technique, so it’s safe to say these folks are being honest with their praise.)

As Faber enters his final two days as host of the ABC quiz show, the Squawk on the Street anchor spoke to Decider about Matt Amodio’s winning streak, being compared to Trebek, and why he’d love to be considered for the permanent hosting gig.

Decider: How do you feel about the response to your first few days hosting Jeopardy!?

David Faber: I’m flattered. How could I not be flattered? As I said, I know Twitter pretty well. I certainly have been no stranger to criticism. It’s been very flattering that there have been so few people who have said anything negative and so many who have obviously said a lot of very positive things. The comparisons to Alex are particularly nice and heartfelt to me. They make me feel like I did a good job.

Did you watch a lot of Alex Trebek’s hosting to prepare for this role?

I did, I did. I said that in the interview I gave Jeopardy! — I’d go home, go to Netflix, and I’d watch four, five, six episodes everyday. So, yes, I definitely focused on him. I didn’t watch any of the other guest hosts. I’d watch them occasionally, but not to learn anything. To learn from him was obviously — or at least to try to learn.

What part of your career prepared you to take on this guest-hosting role?

It’s not as much the journalism, which has been core to what I’ve done for the last 34 years and almost 28 on TV — that’s kind of what I’m known for, actually being a reporter. Doing phone calls. Breaking stories. Making documentaries. But it’s really been more the TV aspect of it. Being live on television for as many years as I have, there aren’t many things that could throw me. Even though Jeopardy! was a completely different animal — and believe me, very challenging — at least I was able to hopefully just be myself, still stay relatively calm and even. Which comes from having been on TV for as long as I have, dealt with as many different situations as you inevitably do when you’ve been doing it so long.

How was filming with Matt Amodio when he was on his winning streak?

Obviously I can’t discuss what’s to come. But I was impressed with him, particularly [the August 3] episode, in which he did a $13,000 Daily Double — all the money he had. Clearly it was the turning point in the game, because if he had not gotten it correct, he would’ve been in a difficult position. He had at least one if not two competitors there. That was gutsy.

It’s funny; when I was doing the show, we’re fairly far apart. There are so many things, as a host, that you’re focused on. I’m looking for who rings in. What’s been interesting watching it on TV is looking at all his mannerisms. I had no idea that he did that bend-down thing! I’ve definitely seen some things just as a viewer that I didn’t see as a host.

Some folks are a little upset that he’s answering prompts with the word “What’s” instead of “Who’s.” Did you notice that while you were filming?

I was aware of it, but I wasn’t focused on it. What I was focused on, particularly during Double Jeopardy, was: “Did you say what or who?” The fact that he’s been kind of using them inappropriately — the judges, it didn’t bother them. So it’s not going to bother me.

But if you watch, and obviously I know now: you can pronounce something incorrectly but they’ll give it to you. As long as you put a “Who” or “What” in front of it — even if it’s not the correct use — apparently they will as well, as long as you get the correct response.

What was filming around your day job like?

It was five shows. They had just come off of LeVar Burton, which, obviously I didn’t follow because it’s all consecutive. But yeah, it’s tight. It’s a long couple of days, there’s no doubt about it. You’re thrown into this and you get a bit of rehearsal, which is great, the staff is amazing. The producers, the EP, everybody associated with the show is great. But it’s not easy for anybody who’s done this, I can assure you. I think they made adjustments as they moved along with the guest host to sort of figure things out, so the people who did it earliest — Katie and some others — I’m sure it was even more difficult for them. Just because there were certain things that they figured out could make it easier for people.

You yourself played Jeopardy! — how was the reception when you were playing, versus as you’ve been hosting?

Well, I’ve gotten a lot more feedback on hosting than I did when I played. But that was really fun, and thankfully, I won. I thought I was going to have just one great Jeopardy! memory, but thankfully, I’ll have more than that. Playing? Helpful, helpful having done it. But not all that helpful, in terms of doing a really good job as a host.

How was managing the clues? Did you have any techniques to keep track of them?

They give you literally a giant page for each show with Jeopardy, Double Jeopardy, and Final Jeopardy. Brought them back to my hotel and laid them out on the bed; just looked at it all. Tried to go over all of it the night before, to some extent, the stuff I could, so that at least I was familiar with every clue, to some extent. Then, the next morning, you go over everything with the staff, which is great.

What was the hardest part of guest hosting?

Every show has its own idiosyncrasies, certainly Jeopardy!. There were some I was aware of, having watched it, but there are others that you can only understand when you’re the host. You tape all of these in one day, so you’re not really making great progress. But even within the day itself, I was able to start to understand how things are done, how to do them a little better, be more in the moment. The hardest thing was just that the show moves at a relentless pace. You have to be focused every single second. You cannot divert your attention.

Are you interested in taking on the permanent hosting gig? [Note: this interview was completed before news broke that Mike Richards is the potential permanent host of the series.]

I think I’d be really good at it, frankly. And I would, if they offered me the job, take it. I have no idea where they really stand on it, at this point. My expectation would be that they may have already made a decision, simply because of what used to be their taping schedule — unless they’re starting later than they typically do.

How does it feel to be compared to Alex Trebek?

It’s really incredibly flattering. After having played with him once but watched him for hours and hours in preparation, it really did give me an appreciation for how incredibly good he was. And how demanding the job in its own way is. Now, it’s something that I have even more insight on, having done it — albeit just for five shows. It makes me feel like, “Well, I must have done something right, if people are willing to make that comparison.” We have a certain similarity in the way that we actually are broadcasters. I think Alex was always fairly understated in his own way. He never made it about himself, and I sort of proceed with that same kind of persona on TV. It’s about the news. It’s about what I’m telling you. It’s about the reporting that I’ve done, it’s not about making a spectacle of myself.

There’s two [reactions] that I like: the ones that compare me to Alex, and the ones that say, “I have no idea who you are, but you did a great job!”

Jeopardy! airs weeknights on ABC at 7/6c.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

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