Mayim Bialik left fans stunned when she revealed that she had been fired from the popular game show in December 2023.
A source close to Jeopardy! exclusively told The US Sun that the main reason for Mayim’s departure was not due to low ratings or fan backlash, but rather the star’s aversion to sharing the spotlight with her former co-host, Ken Jennings.
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Mayim and Ken served as the syndicated game show’s rotating hosts from August 2021 to December 2023.
On December 15, 2023, Mayim surprised former Jeopardy! viewers – and producers – when she posted a message about his dismissal on your Instagram.
“Sony has informed me that I will no longer be hosting the syndicated version of Jeopardy!” she revealed, before thanking “the fans, contestants, writers, staff and crew of America’s Favorite Quiz Show.”
The message may have included that she was “incredibly honored” and “deeply grateful” to have been nominated for an Emmy and to have been a part of Jeopardy! family, but someone close to Jeopardy! Producers and Sony executives who run the show claim otherwise.
Read more about Mayim Bialik
“The bottom line is she wanted the sole hosting job and Sony wasn’t willing to give it to her, and she decided to leave because of it,” a source exclusively told The US Sun.
“Mayim’s departure was a dance of egos because she didn’t want to look bad and neither did the Sony executives who oversaw the show,” the source added.
“But when Mayim made her announcement, the writing was on the wall that she wouldn’t get the full-time presenting job.”
Mayim was sharing hosting duties with Ken, a former Jeopardy! contestant turned host until the Writers Guild of America strike begins in May 2023.
The strike caused her to miss the show’s final week of filming, with Ken being brought in as her replacement.
PEDRO SONY
The source also stated that Sony was not “surprised that Mayim made the announcement herself,” but they were worried that it would put them in a bad situation.
“Sony’s top TV executive [Katherine Pope] He’s incredibly paranoid about any kind of negative publicity and is always trying to keep up appearances,” the source said.
“The timing of Sony’s statement is certainly consistent with how this executive likes to sweep any issues under the rug as quickly as possible.”
A few hours after Mayim’s announcement, Sony responded, in turn, posting your own statement in Danger! Instagram account.
They confirmed that Mayim had already revealed the news and said they “made the decision to have a host for the syndicated show next season to maintain continuity for our viewers.”
Danger! Host timeline
Danger! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts following the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are every host since the game show’s inception in 1964.
Art Fleming – from 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.
Alex Trebek – From 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted the modern iteration of Jeopardy! for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.
Guest Hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested a series of guest hosts for one- or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton and Aaron Rodgers.
Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for a week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.
Mayim Bialik – 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.
Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the winningest contestant of all time) joined Mayim as guest host and they shared hosting duties.
Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a long hiatus, having defended the writers’ strike, and Ken was named sole host.
Ken now runs all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the late night show and other primetime specials such as Masters.
They also confirmed that Ken would be the “sole host” of Jeopardy!
“Sony’s statement was absolutely intended to close the door on the ‘Mayim era’ and not open another can of worms,” the source told The US Sun.
“I think if Mayim had a lot more support from fans and ‘Jeopardy!’ online. community—which she certainly had during her years on ‘Big Bang Theory’—her time on the show would have ended differently, if at all.”
Mayim rose to fame after starring as Amy Farrah Fowler on The Big Bang Theory.
After being featured in a guest role in the show’s third season, the fan favorite returned to the lead role until the series finale in 2019.
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BIG BANG BIALIK
“She currently has no relationship with the production and is moving forward with her other work,” the source continued.
“Acting is still his strong point, and that was made very clear to Sony bosses from the beginning, and apparently to Mayim at the end.”
Since leaving Jeopardy!, Mayim reprized her Big Bang Theory role in an episode of the series’ spin-off, Young Sheldon.
She has appeared on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune as a contestant, on an episode of The Tiny Chef Show, and on HGTV’s Celebrity IOU.
She will next star alongside Cate Blanchett and Adam Driver in an upcoming comedy-drama anthology film titled Father, Mother, Sister, Brother.
Mayim also hosts a podcast, Bialik Breakdown, with her boyfriend, mindfulness expert Jonathan Cohen.
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“She has learned to host the show and love the process of doing it, but everyone agrees that this is not the job she was born to do – and that is what led to Sony parting ways with her,” the source added.
“No one involved with the show is talking about Mayim returning anytime soon, but it’s not hard to imagine the production being in trouble and needing her to fill in again, especially if Ken is sick or has another scheduling conflict.”
Sony left the door open for Mayim’s return in its statement, writing that it “looks forward to continuing to work with her on primetime specials.”
Mayim has yet to host a Jeopardy! spin-offs, including Jeopardy! Masters and Celebrities Jeopardy!
“I think the big question is, would Mayim say ‘yes’ if asked to come back as a replacement? I’m not sure she would,” the source said.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
