'Jeopardy!' taps Buzzy Cohen as guest host for Tournament of Champions

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Former "Jeopardy!" champion Buzzy Cohen has been tapped to guest host the show’s upcoming Tournament of Champions.

The fan-favorite winner of 2016 who went on to win the following year’s tournament will take over guest-hosting duties as part of the growing roster of guests getting behind the podium to fill in for the late Alex Trebek, who died at age 80 after a lengthy battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. 

According to People, Cohen will guest host the show starting May 17 through the 28th and preside over the tournament that will see returning champions compete against each other to see who is the best "Jeopardy!" player among them. 

The outlet reports that Cohen’s expanded role on the show means he’ll be working closely with writers and producers and therefore disqualified himself from appearing as a "Jeopardy!" contestant in the future. Fortunately, Cohen has already proved himself on the popular game show’s stage multiple times.

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Buzzy Cohen will guest host 'Jeopardy!' and its Tournament of Champions. (Eric McCandless via Getty Images)

"Buzzy has been where each of these champions is, so it'll be comforting for the contestants to see a familiar face behind the lectern," "Jeopardy!" executive producer Mike Richards told the outlet in a statement. "We will miss seeing him compete, but we look forward to seeing how he uses his quick wit and personality as guest host." 

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This year, 15 previous winners will go head-to-head for the tournament’s grand prize of $250,000 that will be matched and donated to the Hope of the Valley Trebek Center for the Homeless, a facility named after the longtime host of the show that assists homeless people through various charitable services. 

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Currently, NFL star Aaron Rodgers is acting as guest host of "Jeopardy!" but he’ll have to hang up his hosting cap soon in order to make way for a different guest judge. However, Rodgers previously hinted that he’d do whatever it takes to be made the permanent host of the competition show. 

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So far, though, the popular game show has not announced any plans to install a permanent host, opting instead to keep bringing on celebrity guests. However, fans recently petitioned for "Reading Rainbow" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" actor Levar Burton to take on the job.