It looks like “Jeopardy!” producers had a really specific reason why they decided to drop Mayim Bialik as host after two years.
Now, trivia guru Ken Jennings, who still holds the record for many wins on the show with 74 consecutive games, is the only real host of the long-running game show following the death of late host Alex Trebek in November 2020 as a consequence of pancreatic cancer.
Mayim Bialik Proclaims She Is No Longer With ‘Jeopardy!’
On Friday, December 15, Mayim Bialik announced that she would not be working because the host of “Jeopardy!” in its syndicated form. It’s unclear if she’s going to return to hosting primetime specials or spin-off shows like “Celebrity Jeopardy!”. Although she hosted season 1 of the sport show spin-off, Ken Jennings took over for the show’s second season, which is currently airing.
“As the vacation break begins in Hollywood, I even have some Jeopardy! news, she wrote within the caption of a transient Instagram post. “Sony has informed me that I’ll not be hosting the syndicated version of Jeopardy!”
“I’m incredibly honored to have been nominated for a primetime Emmy for hosting this yr and I’m deeply grateful for the chance to have been a component of the Jeopardy! family,” she continued. “For all of you who’ve supported me through this incredible journey and to the fans, contestants, writers. staff and crew of America’s Favorite Quiz Show, thanks.”
‘Jeopardy!’ Releases Their Own Statement On Instagram
About an hour later, the “Jeopardy!” Instagram account released its own transient statement revealing that the “Blossom” child star had made the announcement herself, resulting in speculation as as to if or not it was really Mayim’s decision to walk away from “Jeopardy!”. It was well-known that the actress had scheduling conflicts as a consequence of her acting profession, although her Fox sitcom “Call Me Kat” was canceled earlier this yr.
“Mayim Bialik has announced she’s going to not be hosting the syndicated version of Jeopardy!” they wrote in a transient Instagram statement. “We made the choice to have one host for the syndicated show next season to take care of continuity for our viewers, and Ken Jennings will likely be the only real host for syndicated Jeopardy!. We’re truly grateful for all of Mayim’s contributions to Jeopardy!, and we hope to proceed to work along with her on primetime specials.”
Why ‘Jeopardy!’ Execs Decided To Part Ways With Mayim Bialik
As The Blast previously reported, Mayim Bialik opted to not film the ultimate few episodes of the season and decided to skip hosting season 2 of “Celebrity Jeopardy!” entirely, as a way to stand in solidarity with other strikers during each the acting and writing strikes that took over Hollywood earlier this yr.
Apparently, it was her decision to step away from the show that made Sony executives realize that they only needed one host. On December 20, Sony Studio sources told TMZ that although Sony executives “weren’t mad” that she decided to support the strike and walk off the stage, it did make them realize that the show would survive with just one host.
The sources say that Mayim stepping away from the rostrum gave Ken “a chance” to point out what he was product of, and it looks like executives were impressed by his recent performance. As well as, execs also reportedly spent plenty of time attempting to coordinate with Mayim’s busy schedule, including her responsibilities as each a author, actress, and director.
Sony Executives Are Still Open To Her Hosting Primetime Specials
Along with accommodating Mayim’s other projects, sources told the outlet that the “Call Me Kat” actress didn’t agree with staff changes and certain production decisions, reminiscent of the choice to rent executive producer Michael Davies as a way to replace disgraced producer Mike Richards.
Sources at Sony went on to inform that outlet that they aren’t seeking to do away with Mayim completely and would still like to have the actress host primetime specials because they feel that she works well with the celebrity contestants. Nevertheless, sources say that, to Mayim, it was an “all or nothing” deal, and decided to walk away from the show without consulting Sony, leading to the 2 seemingly conflicting Instagram statements posted on Friday night.
Regardless, sources say that Sony executives are still open to Mayim Bialik returning to host primetime specials of “Jeopardy!” if she is interested. It stays to be seen if Mayim will change her mind and return to the “Jeopardy!” family, but within the meantime, fans can sit up for seeing rather a lot more of Ken Jennings behind the rostrum.
