‘Jeopardy!’: Mayim Bialik To Step In As Temporary Host Of Syndicated Show After Mike Richards’ Exit

Nellie Andreeva
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Mayim Bialik, who earlier this month was announced as host of the Jeopardy! primetime and spinoff series, will fill in as host of the mothership syndicated program following the abrupt exit of Mike Richards as host after one day of tapings. (He remains an executive producer of the franchise.)

Bialik, who guest hosted earlier this year in the wake of Alex Trebek’s death, is currently scheduled to tape three weeks of episodes (15 episodes) when production resumes this week. Additional guest hosts will be announced as search for a permanent host of the Sony Pictures Television program resumes.

More from Deadline

Richards pulled out as host the syndicated Jeopardy! Friday after multiple controversies from his past emerged in the last few weeks. The episodes taped with him — believed to be five — will air. The host shakeup came on the heels of a Ringer report about offensive and sexist comments towards his female co-hosts and guests Richards had made on The Randumb Show, a podcast he hosted in 2013 and 2014, along with off-color remarks about Haitians and Jews. The controversy prompted the Anti-Defamation League to call upon Jeopardy! producer Sony Pictures Television to investigate and proved to be too serious for Richards to recover from without tarnishing the iconic Jeopardy! brand.

Bialik, who has a PhD in neuroscience, is best known for her award-winning role as Amy Farrah Fowler on the hit CBS comedy, The Big Bang Theory. Currently, Bialik is starring in Call Me Kat on Fox, which she also executive produces. She also is the host of the mental health podcast “Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown” and she recently wrote and directed her first feature, As Sick As They Made Us, starring Dustin Hoffman and Candice Bergen.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to join the Jeopardy! family,” Bialik said at the time of the Jeopardy! host announcement for her and Richards. “What started out with my 15-year-old repeating a rumor from Instagram that I should guest host the show has turned into one of the most exciting and surreal opportunities of my life! I’m so grateful and excited to continue to work with Mike Richards, and I’m just over the moon to join forces with him and Sony. After all the conversations we’ve had about this partnership, I am just so ready to get started!”

CNN first reported of Bialik’s return as a Jeopardy! guest host.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.