‘Jeopardy!’ Reveals Why The Show Fired Mayim Bialik
Jeopardy! made the official decision to remove Mayim Bialik from the show last year and move on with Ken Jennings as the sole host. At the time, fans heard from Mayim, who seemed disappointed to lose the job. Jeopardy! also released a statement after that when they said they wanted to just use one host from then on.
However, the producers of the popular game show are finally letting people know why they fired Mayim Bialik from the series.
The reason Jeopardy! fired Mayim Bialik
Last year, Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings co-hosted Jeopardy! Mayim was the main host, but when she had to leave to shoot her sitcom, Call Me Kat, Ken Jennings was hired to replace her at that time. They then began to rotate on the show until Mayim left when the writers went on strike. Ken finished out the season, as Mayim wouldn’t return as long as they were using striking writers’ questions.
However, that isn’t the reason that Jeopardy! let Mayim go. Instead, executive producer Michael Davies said at the Television Critics Association winter press tour that “Ken really won the job” (via TVLine). When asked why they couldn’t keep having two hosts, he said, “We’ve heard a lot from our television stations and other interested parties is they were looking for more consistency, they wanted a single host.”
As a result, Davies said they had to choose one person – Mayim Bialik or Ken Jennings – moving forward. While Davies said that Mayim was a “superb host,” he said that Ken Jennings won the job with his work. He also previously said there was no ratings difference when it came to the two hosts, and fans watched either way.
Mayim Bialik might return to Jeopardy! in another way
Fans learned of the change from Mayim Bialik herself. She posted that “Sony informed me that I will no longer be hosting the syndicated version of Jeopardy!” when it happened. However, there might not be bad blood between the two sides. Mayim might return in another capacity.
Davies said at the Television Critics Association winter press tour that the network is still considering using Mayim for primetime versions of Jeopardy! and other spinoffs. He said that “those conversations are ongoing.” However, when it comes to the syndicated show, that is now Ken Jennings’s job to maintain consistency for fans and networks.
Mayim Bialik was paid $4 million a year for her Jeopardy! job, so this should also save the studio some big-time money. They only need to pay one host now, outside of a deal for the primetime and spinoffs if Mayim decides to return.
Are you going to miss Maykim Bialik as the host of Jeopardy!? Do you agree that it might be better to just have one host from now on for consistency? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Get her back
I stopped watching when she became the host. She was annoying and boring. So happy to see her gone.
One host is my preference.