'Celebrity Jeopardy!' Fans Weigh in as Ken Jennings Replaces Mayim Bialik
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ABC has released the new poster for upcoming episodes of Celebrity Jeopardy!, and fans are responding to the shift in hosts, as Ken Jennings takes center stage on the spinoff after Mayim Bialik paused hosting duties in solidarity with the ongoing strikes.
The official Jeopardy! account on Instagram shared the new poster, which depicts Jennings walking towards the camera with the premiere date, Sept. 27, on the bottom.
Of course, Jeopardy! fans had a lot to say about Jennings taking over, with quite a few sharing their dislike of Bialik. There has been a constant debate among fans about who is the better host, Jennings or Bialik, ever since they started co-hosting the main show.
In the comments on the Instagram post, one wrote, "Great to see Ken, love him hosting," while another replied, "I might actually watch it now that She isn’t hosting," referring to Bialik.
There were also fans of Bialik reacting to the news, saying, "Will miss Mayim Bialik, loved her as a host. Hope she'll come back later," and "Nope don’t like him, Mayim is much more personable.." As a fan of both hosts, one questioned, "I really like both of them. Why are people being so nasty about her?"
Quite a few were confused about the show's standing in regards to the SAG strike. "Is Ken the host because he crossed the picket line? Or did [Mayim] quit?" asked a fan. Someone else commented, "Im conflicted. I love Celebrity Jeopardy but i feel like this goes against the strike." A couple of fans even stated that they wouldn't be tuning in until the strikes are over, while some Jeopardy! champions have decided not to compete until then as well.
Many replied to these queries noting that Jennings is allowed to host under SAG rules and isn't "crossing the picket line," but there is still criticism due to the fact that the show is continuing throughout the strikes and not pausing production in support. With Celebrity Jeopardy! in particular, people are curious about which celebrities would even appear on the show at this time.
The criticism grew when ABC announced that they would be filming new Jeopardy! episodes with returning contestants and "non-original material and material that was written pre-strike."
Jeopardy! champion James Holzhauer called out ABC on X (formally known as Twitter) for telling fans "Jeopardy’s writers are invaluable and we couldn’t produce the show without them," right before explaining how it intended to run the show without them.
Bialik's status as co-host of Jeopardy! is unclear, as she stopped hosting earlier this year when the WGA went on strike, but the network hasn't said anything that would indicate she's completely out of the show.
Despite that, ABC earned more backlash recently when it released a poster celebrating the end of the Jeopardy! season with just Kennings on it, despite Bialik hosting around half of the episodes. ABC never responded to the backlash, instead silently taking down the image from all social media.
Next: Jeopardy! Season 40 Premiere Date, Hosts and Major Changes
