Mayim Bialik says the new National College Championship is 'like March Madness for Jeopardy '
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For Jeopardy fans, March Madness is starting a month early.
On Tuesday, the quiz show will kick off its two-week National College Championship, a special tournament that will air in primetime on ABC. An expanded, blockbuster version of Jeopardy's annual College Championship, the event brings together 36 college students for a competition that host Mayim Bialik compares to the NCAA's much-hyped basketball tournament.
"It's kind of like March Madness, but for Jeopardy — we even had a little bracket," Bialik tells EW. "And I think one of the most special things was that [the contestants] come from all different kinds of colleges. There were Ivy Leagues, private schools, public schools, historically Black universities, colleges in towns that you may not have ever heard of. It was just a really, really awesome variety of everything that exists academically in this country."
ABC/Casey Durkin Mayim Bialik hosts the 'Jeopardy' National College Championship on ABC
Over nine hour-long episodes, with two Jeopardy games per episode, the field will be narrowed down to one winner, who will receive a $250,000 grand prize (second place will receive $100,000; third place, $50,000). The first six episodes will produce 12 winners, who will then face off in four semi-final games. Out of the four semi-final winners, the three with the highest totals will advance to the finals. (The fourth-place winner will receive $35,000 for their trouble.)
Ahead of the Championship's debut, Bialik spoke to EW about what to expect, along with her reflections on hosting the show, last year's Mike Richards debacle, juggling Jeopardy with her Fox sitcom Call Me Kat, and why Final Jeopardy is difficult even for the host.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What can you tease about the National College Championship?
MAYIM BIALIK: I can't reveal a ton, but the categories are… I don't want to say more age-appropriate, but there are things specifically about [the contestants'] era and generation, which was fun. And the fact is, I normally am awed by any of our contestants, so to have people this young with brains like they have was just a whole different level of Jeopardy goodness.
Was there anything else about taping the tournament that made it special or different compared to the regular show?
Technically speaking, it's pretty much the same format, but for those [contestants] that advanced, I got to know them a little bit more, which was cool. I think their energy, for lack of a better word, is just different. I always have a good time [on the show], but it was really special to be able to interact with them on breaks. I think one day we had to wait for something technical, and we did a little Q&A, where I let them ask me questions. It kind of felt like being at summer camp.
I mean, obviously, because of COVID, interaction was still a little bit difficult, but their camaraderie with each other is very different than we see in our adult contestants, as it were. It's not that our adult contestants don't have good camaraderie, but there's something really sweet about young people hanging out together while having this competition that felt different. I got to see them socializing the way my teenagers do.
ABC/Casey Durkin Mayim Bialik presenting Final Jeopardy on the 'Jeopardy' National College Championship
Now that you've been doing it for a while, what have you learned about hosting Jeopardy in your time on the show?
I've learned more what I don't know than what I do, I think. [Laughs] But learning the language of Jeopard-ese, as they call it, has been really special. I speak a couple languages and now I feel like I speak this language as well. It's a really fun challenge, and it never gets old. Every game is different, and while it's not acting, thinking on my feet and coming up with quick jokes if I can is its own kind of performance, and I've just really enjoyed it.
I'm still nervous, so I'm hoping to continue to get more comfortable. Final Jeopardy is usually the hardest thing for me, and I've been having a little bit more ease with that. A lot of people wouldn't know that, because we do a lot of things in pickups, but I think my pacing has gotten a little more even, which basically helps with my brain not getting ahead of my mouth.
What about Final Jeopardy makes that especially difficult?
It's so confusing! [Laughs] I mean, just because I have a doctorate in neuroscience doesn't mean that when I look at this gigantic notecard, with three columns that have every single possibility of every bet — visually, it's a lot of stimulus. Also, often I will leave the podium before I see what [the players] have finished writing. And you want that reveal to be as accurate as possible, meaning I don't want them to have to refilm winning or losing. So I'm trying to say all the right things. There are certain words you can't say as a host; I'm not allowed to say, "What did you say?" I have to say, "What did you write down? What was your response? And your response is … " So I have this catalog in my brain to make each one different, and not say the things that don't make sense and that I'll have to do as pickups. And the numbers, the math, the pronunciations — it's a mess. I can be a real mess in Final Jeopardy.
To go back a bit, how did it feel to be asked to join the Jeopardy team after you had done your guest-hosting run?
Well, it was obviously a very hectic and interesting week. Originally, I literally just said, "What can I do? How can I be helpful?" and kind of lived a week at a time at that time. It's an enormous responsibility. It's enormously thrilling and a huge honor to share that with Ken [Jennings], and it's also an enormous thing to have two jobs. You know, I'm doing Call Me Kat and Jeopardy on my off weeks, and I also have a mental health podcast called Mayim Bialik's Breakdown. So it's a very busy life over here. A lot of naps. [Laughs]
ABC/Casey Durkin Mayim Bialik hosts the 'Jeopardy' National College Championship
What do you think made you particularly effective or made you stand out as a Jeopardy host?
Oh gosh, if I knew that, I'd be selling it at a booth. I don't know. I don't think we can deny that I am female, and that's different. I'm not saying that's why, but I'm saying in terms of standing out, yeah, I'm female. I am a scientist in real life, which, you don't have to be a scientist to be a Jeopardy host, but I was trained as a science communicator in academia. And I've also been an actor. I'm not great at improv. A lot of times I don't know why I say the stupid things I do when trying to interview people, but you never know what's gonna happen, and I think being able to handle whatever happens is a skill that is hopefully continuing to come in handy.
With some distance now from the host-succession drama that happened last year, do you have any thoughts on how it all played out?
I don't really have any new insights. I will say that at the time I was kind of blissfully ignorant, and for the most part have kind of remained so. I've been really happy to not have the public focus on that. The good thing about digging into my past is, I literally have a YouTube channel where I've said all the things I'm going to say. I don't have any secrets. [Laughs] Whatever you're worried about, I've made a video or written a book about it. So I'm kind of an open book in that sense. And I know I'm not everyone's cup of tea, and I think that's just kind of how it is being a human. I think that, like I said, I'm mostly eager to let people sort of focus on all the incredible things that happen on Jeopardy, Amy Schneider being one of those examples of late.
Speaking of Amy Schneider, did you get to meet her at all during her run on the show?
No, I literally was a fan and an observer from home. I'm eager to hopefully get to meet her at the Tournament of Champions, but it depends on so many things.
Casey Durkin/Jeopardy Productions, Inc. Amy Schneider's 40-game winning streak was the second-longest in 'Jeopardy' history
What was it like for you having to keep that secret, that her streak ended before you got to meet her?
We film quite a bit in advance, and I keep the code of Jeopardy silence very dear. It feels kind of nice to have that protective space for Jeopardy. But with the Amy thing, people at my work know that I only work Jeopardy on off weeks from Call Me Kat. So people started doing the math of, like, "Was she there?" So when I finally realized the timing would work out, where Amy's episode where she did break her streak would air [before I went back to Call Me Kat], I was just incredibly relieved. I was nervous to have to go back to work without that having aired, because everyone would have said, "Did you see Amy?" And it would be just a little bit more elaborate of a lie.
And what was it like for you as a Jeopardy fan watching her streak play out?
I think even if you're not a Jeopardy fan, what she did is so historic, so significant. You know, my kids, who are 13 and 16 and are very, very woke, told me that we shouldn't even talk about how historic she was, because that draws attention to the fact that it's not expected that she be amazing. But this is kind of a bridge generation, and representation does matter. And it's really a beautiful thing to see in so many ways.
The Jeopardy National College Championship begins Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. (You can see the tournament's full schedule here.)
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
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