Mayim Bialik becomes first guest host of 'Jeopardy!' after the departure of Mike Richards

Bialik will host the episodes to be taped this week, sources familiar with the case told NewsMadura Business. Since the game show typically shoots a week’s worth of episodes in one day, that means they’ll be playing “Jeopardy!” for three weeks. will host.

Sony, the show’s producer, confirmed the news after this story was first published, saying that “additional guest hosts will be announced” as it continues production on the new season, which will premiere in mid-September.

When Bialik was mentioned earlier this month as the host of “Jeopardy!” prime time specials, it was seen by some as a consolation prize as Richards was named the host of the popular weekday show. There is currently only one such prime time tournament scheduled.

But with Richards suddenly acting as the daily host, amid controversy over his past abusive comments, Bialik can now be positioned as a frontrunner for the weekday job. A person familiar with the case confirmed on Monday that studio executives are considering her for the role.

“The studio loves Mayim, but at the time of the decision for the current season, her schedule for ‘Call me Kat’ had been set and she would not have been able to combine the syndicated show and her fox sitcom,” said the person.

“Now that there’s a little more time to figure things out, she’s become a really viable choice for Sony,” the person continued. “It just makes sense to ask her to intervene for several weeks while they figure out the next steps.”

There has been some speculation that Richards, who remains on as executive producer of “Jeopardy!” for the time being, is making decisions about the next presenter.

But the person who spoke to NewsMadura Business on Monday said that’s not the case.

Instead, the person said, Sony Pictures Entertainment chief executive Tony Vinciquerra and Global Television Studios chairman Ravi Ahuja are the people directly involved.

“They don’t want to go through another extensive audition process,” the person added.

People with knowledge of the process have also pointed to Ken Jennings, who placed the highest ratings of all “Jeopardy!” guest host last season, as another contender. Jennings would be the first time finalist and has stayed with the show as an advisory producer.

Bialik is best known for her years on the hit CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory”, where she played Amy. She currently plays the title character in “Call Me Kat” on Fox. Off-camera, she hosts a weekly mental health podcast called “Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown.”

In a statement earlier this month, about her prime-time role, she said: “I couldn’t be happier to join the Jeopardy! family. Which started when my 15-year-old repeated a rumor from Instagram that I had to guest guest. his show has become one of the most exciting and surreal opportunities of my life!I am so grateful and excited to continue working with Mike Richards, and I am just over the moon to join forces with him and Sony. conversations we’ve had about this collaboration, I’m so ready to get started!”

Richards’ tenure as the daily host was cut very short after a story on The Ringer’s website featured a slew of offensive comments about his past.

Claire McNear, the reporter behind the story and the author of a recent book about the “Jeopardy!” franchise, said on NewsMadura’s “New Day” Monday that “the big question is where ‘Jeopardy!’ go from here?”

“It’s been such a stable institution on television and in American culture for so many decades,” she said. “And now all of a sudden, with this scandal, it feels like that’s been shaken up. And I think there’s a lot of concern, especially within Sony and within the ‘Jeopardy!’ staff, that this reliable thing may not be what it used to be and that it could just be another game show.”