Credit: Inside the MagicThe executive producer of Jeopardy has revealed that controversial former host Mayim Bialik was kicked off the show because Ken Jennings “won” the job over her.
Jeopardy may be one of the longest-running and most beloved quiz shows in television history, but it has had a rough go of things in the last several years. After the sad passing of legendary host Alex Trebek in 2020, the franchise (which includes the classic version of the show, Celebrity Jeopardy, various tournaments, and now a United Kingdom variant) seemed unable to decide how to remake itself.
Notoriously, producer Mike Richards appointed himself the permanent host of the show after weeks of rotating celebrity hosts (who fans largely assumed were auditioning in real-time), despite his lack of audience recognition or experience. Richards stepped down within days amidst various scandals.
Credit: NBC
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Next, Jeopardy tried to install two hosts: legendary champion Ken Jennings (who hosted the classic version of the show) and sitcom actress Mayim Bialik (who handled the Celebrity Edition). It did not go well.
Mayim Bialik left the show after first stepping away from hosting duties during the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, but even before that, had attracted the vitriolic anger of numerous Jeopardy fans who found her unprofessional and frequently accused her of bending and breaking the rules of the game.
Jeopardy executive producer Michael Davies has now revealed that Mayim Bialik was fired from the show because of demands that it have a single host and that Ken Jennings simply won the battle.
At the 2024 Television Critics Association’s winter press tour “Unscripted Storytellers” panel (per People), Davies first somewhat laid the blame on the previous management, saying, “When I took over the show, we were really forced into that situation from everything that happened before, the guest hosting period. Mayim was left hosting the primetime versions; I brought in Ken to guest-host once Mayim had her schedule on her Fox sitcom.”
However, Davies got to the real meat of things, saying, “Over the past two-and-a-half seasons, what we’ve heard from a lot of television stations and other interested parties is that they wanted more consistency. They wanted a single host.” In other words, it was either Bialik or Jennings, not both.
Michael Davies actually left the door at least potentially open for Mayim Bialik to return but confirmed that it had simply been a contest between the Big Bang Theory actress and Ken Jennings, saying, “Mayim is a superb host. We hope to keep working with her on primetime versions and other spinoffs. Those conversations are ongoing — but Ken really won the job.”
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Since she left the show, Mayim Bialik has largely kept out of the public eye, apparently going into “complete isolation” for a period after being ousted from the show. For his part, Ken Jennings has claimed to have been blindsided by the decision, saying, “It took me off guard, because I loved working with my Mayim and I’m gonna miss her. I can’t speak to her decision-making process or her opinions about it.”
At the end of the day, it seems there could only be one Jeopardy host, and Ken Jennings was it.
Do you want Mayim Bialik to return to Jeopardy as a host? Let us know in the comments below!