Mayim Bialik will begin hosting “Jeopardy!” Feb. 20, kicking off with the “Jeopardy!” High School Reunion Tournament.
Jeopardy Productions, Inc.
Ken Jennings has been an official host of “Jeopardy!” for five months now.
Last September, the “Jeopardy!” Greatest of All Time champion rang in the show’s 39th season, and became emotional as he welcomed a live audience for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
“That first game of this season, I walked out and people just went bonkers and I just started to cry,” Jennings told “Good Morning America.” “This game means so much to people. And there was just this visceral wave of love and energy. I’ll be thinking about that for the rest of my life.”
“I had to come out and do my opening again because I was so touched,” he said on an episode of the podcast “Inside Jeopardy!,” per the Deseret News.
Now, Jennings is handing the reins over to his fellow “Jeopardy!” co-host Mayim Bialik.
When will Mayim Bialik host ‘Jeopardy!’?
Bialik, known for her roles on sitcoms like “The Big Bang Theory” and “Call Me Kat,” will begin hosting the quiz show on Feb. 20 — meaning Friday could potentially be the last time “Jeopardy!” fans see Jennings this season.
The 39th “Jeopardy!” season wraps up July 2023, so both Jennings and Bialik will have hosted for roughly five months each if Bialik hosts for the remainder of the season.
Bialik’s turn at the hosting lectern will start with the “Jeopardy!” High School Reunion Tournament, which will see 27 former Teen Tournament contestants — who are now in college — competing for $100,000 and a spot in the 2023 Tournament of Champions, per the Deseret News. The high school reunion tournament runs Feb. 20 through March 9.
When “Jeopardy!” initially announced that Jennings and Bialik had signed deals to be the show’s permanent hosts — an announcement that came more than a year and a half after Alex Trebek’s death — the show indicated that Bialik would begin hosting in January, the Deseret News reported.
“Originally, we did think Mayim was going to come back in January,” said “Jeopardy!” producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss on an episode of “Inside Jeopardy!” “Her ‘Call me Kat’ schedule, it evolved, so we are seeing her a little later than we had anticipated. But not for any lack of wanting to have both of our hosts on the show as much as possible — just scheduling. Mayim is a busy, busy woman! We’re excited, though, to have her back.”
Ken Jennings appears with Mayim Bialik in the Season 3 premiere episode of “Call Me Kat.”
Lisa Rose, Fox
How Ken Jennings, Mayim Bialik feel about hosting ‘Jeopardy!’
At the start of the 39th season, both Jennings and Bialik opened up about being named permanent hosts.
“It’s overwhelming, but in a really good way,” Bialik said on the podcast “Inside Jeopardy!”, noting that she was excited to share the responsibility with a “Jeopardy!” “legend” like Jennings.
Jennings’ history with the show goes back to his childhood — he would rush home from school every day to watch “Jeopardy!” per the Deseret News. In 2004, he became the show’s winningest contestant with an incredible 74-game winning streak, and 16 years after that, he claimed the “Jeopardy!” Greatest of All Time title in a tournament with fellow “Jeopardy!” greats James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter.
Tyler Golden, Sony Pictures Television
But despite his “Jeopardy!” accomplishments, Jennings simply considers himself to be an avid fan of the show.
“Like to this day I feel like a fan,” he said. “I wouldn’t be the person I am without all the ‘Jeopardy!’ I watched as a kid, and then of course it changed my life in a big way 20 years ago. It’s just an honor to be associated with this show in any way.”