Mayim Bialik may have hosted Celebrity Jeopardy! last season, but things will be looking a little different this time around.
The Big Bang Theory alum, 47, has been replaced by Ken Jennings as host of the ABC series while she continues to support the ongoing Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strike, according to Deadline.
This isn’t the first time that Jennings, 49, has stepped in for Bialik as host. He did the same for her in May after the actress walked off the Jeopardy! set in solidarity of the strike during the last week of filming for season 39.
Why Mayim Bialik Walked Off the Set of ‘Jeopardy!’
When the trivia competition show was in search of a new host after the death of beloved host Alex Trebek at the age of 80 in 2020, Bialik was one of many celebrity guest hosts to make an appearance.
She would later come on board as a permanent Jeopardy! co-host alongside Jennings.
Christopher Willard/ABC via Getty
The pair was given the role after previous series executive producer Mike Richards was named permanent host in August 2021 but was removed after his past controversial comments and alleged behavior resurfaced.
She was then tapped to host Celebrity Jeopardy!’s first season and hosted the spinoff series Jeopardy! National College Championship.
“I’ve been saying it’s really one of the most iconic things I think that I’m ever going to do in my career,” she told PEOPLE in 2021 prior to her appearance. “It’s going to feel like Forrest Gump like I’ve been inserted into the Jeopardy! set.”
Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings Are Officially ‘Jeopardy!’ Co-Hosts: ‘We Couldn’t Be More Thrilled’
The actress also reflected on Trebek’s legacy by expressing that there was “a lot of iconic pressure.”
“There’s a lot of responsibility that falls on the host,” she said. “I think also there’s a lot of iconic pressure. When I was looking over some of the scripts, I was thinking, how would Alex [Trebek] say this? And that’s probably not who I’m expected to be, Alex Trebek, but in my head, I am Alex Trebek — that’s who I want to be.”
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Miikka Skaffari/Getty
Per its website, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) “is a labor union representing thousands of members who write content for motion pictures, television, news, and online media” and currently consists of more than 6,000 members.
Its last strike stretched 100 days, starting in November 2007, and continued through February 2008. Following the start of its strike in May, the SAG-AFTRA — the union that comprises the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists — announced it had initiated a strike on July 13.
Ahead of the strike, members of SAG-AFTRA had been seeking pay and residual increases, higher caps on pension and health contributions as well as regulating the use of artificial intelligence, among other things.
The strike remains ongoing. Many Hollywood stars have since hit the picket lines to support the strike, including Mariska Hargitay, Hilary Duff, Francia Raisa, Bryan Cranston and Jason Sudeikis.
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The upcoming season of Celebrity Jeopardy! is set to premiere on Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education