He was most notably the executive producer of the American television game shows Let's Make a Deal and The Price Is Right from 2009 to 2019, and of Jeopardy!

Richards also hosted other television series including High School Reunion, Beauty and the Geek, Pyramid, and Divided, and was executive producer of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2020.

In August 2021, Richards briefly succeeded Alex Trebek as host of the daily syndicated version of Jeopardy!

However, Richards resigned as host later that month due to criticism over offensive comments that he made on The Randumb Show podcast, as well as wrongful termination and sexual harassment lawsuits from models during his time as the executive producer of The Price Is Right.

The show featured celebrity guests including Kim Fields, Casey Kasem and Anson Williams.

[4] Richards was the second host of Beauty and the Geek and produced numerous game shows, including Weakest Link.

[6] During his early career, Richards was vice president of development and current programs for Dick Clark Productions.

[4][12] Richards was the subject of two wrongful termination lawsuits from models on The Price Is Right; one lawsuit was by Brandi Cochran, who alleged that CBS and FremantleMedia discriminated against her by firing her after she became pregnant with twins,[13] and another was by Lanisha Cole, who claimed that Richards and fellow producer Adam Sandler (not to be confused with actor and comedian Adam Sandler) berated her in front of her peers and wrongfully terminated her.

[24][25] After that announcement, a lawsuit filed against Richards and others during his tenure as the executive producer of The Price Is Right resurfaced, causing controversy.

[33] However, on August 31, 2021, a week and a half after Richards resigned as permanent host, he was fired as executive producer of both shows.