Last December, Mayim Bialik announced that she would no longer host Jeopardy!. “For all of you who have supported me through this incredible journey and to the fans, contestants, writers, staff, and crew of America’s Favorite Quiz Show, thank you,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. The game show’s executive producer, Michael Davies, has finally opened up about why they decided to ditch Bialik in favor of Ken Jennings.
According to TVLine, Davies told reporters during the Television Critics Association winter press tour over the weekend that Bialik was “a superb host,” but in the end, “Ken really won the job.” Following the Mike Richards fiasco, hosting duties were split between the former The Big Bang Theory actress and Jennings, “but over the past two and a half seasons, what 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,” Davies explained.
In a May 2023 interview, Davies had stated that there was “zero difference” in the ratings for Bialik-hosted episodes vs. Jennings, adding that there were no “absolute” data that points to one being more popular than the other. “I back both of them,” he declared at the time. “I go to the studio every day and try to make both of them better at hosting the show and make a better program environment around them. They have my full support.”
Here’s an idea: let the accidental dirty gesture lady host the show. She’s earned it.
(Via TVLine)