Topline
Mayim Bialik was announced earlier in the month as Jeopardy! host. Multiple news outlets reported that spin-off specials will be taking over as the guest host of the new daily syndicated shows. This is in response to Mike Richards' departure as primary host.
THE MASKED DJANCER: Mayim Bialik is a guest panelist on the "Top 5, Dance The Night Away” episode of THE... [+] MASKED DANER airing Wednesday, February 3 at 8:00-9:00 ET/PT on FOX. FOX Image Collection via Getty Images. Photo by FOX via Getty Images.
The Key Facts
Mayim Bialik is an actress who is best known for her roles in Blossom and CBS's The Big Bang Theory. She will be filming new episodes on Jeopardy! Variety reports that the show will be filming for at least three weeks during its 38th season. Sources tell CNN that executives are also interested in Bialik for the permanent job. They don't want to go through another lengthy audition process. After a report revealed offensive comments Richards made years ago on a podcast, Richards quit his official role as host. Richards stated that he was quitting as host because it became too distracting for his fans.
Important Background
Richards was subject to backlash following a report that revealed offensive comments he made in 2013 and 2014. These remarks were characterized by the Anti-Defamation League as disparaging remarks regarding Jews, women, and Asians. He told Jeopardy! Staff he said that the allegations didn't reflect who he is. He was then announced as the new host of Bialik's first taped show, which was ABCs Jeopardy! National College Championship.
Tangent
LeVar Burton is best known as an actor and host of Reading Rainbow on PBS. He was also a star of Star Trek: The Next Generation. About 269,000 people signed a petition on change.org requesting that LeVar Burton be made a permanent host after his July stint as a guest host. Jeopardy is another favorite! EW reports that Ken Jennings (74-time winner) had one of EW's highest average Nielsen ratings scores of 6.0 while hosting.
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