Jeopardy! Fans Rejoice At Ken Jennings’ Return Date, Is Mayim Bialik Canceled As Host?
Jeopardy! fans are speculating that a returning Ken Jennings will be made the sole host of the show.
Jeopardy! fans who really love Ken Jennings have been annoyed that the former champ is on a hiatus from hosting duties, and they’ve reluctantly been putting up with Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik serving as host instead. Some good news for those fans is that TV Insider reports Jennings is returning to host on March 10 when he was previously not going to return until September. This unexpected early return, combined with a general dislike of Mayim Bialik as host, has some Jeopardy! fans speculating that she might be canceled as co-host in favor of having Jennings as a full-time host.
For example, while this user doesn’t say anything explicitly about Ken Jennings, they aren’t afraid to let their displeasure towards Mayim Bialik as host be known. And it’s honestly a brutal comment because it points out how much their displeasure goes beyond simple dislike. Instead, the very act of watching her host is described as if it’s a punishment.
This user, meanwhile, has feelings about Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik, and like the former user, they are no fan of the vibe that the former Blossom star brings to the show. Of course, they might be answering their own question when they ask why Jeopardy! keeps Bialik as host when there are so many different ways of discovering how audiences really feel. While many are vocal in their hatred of her as host, this might be more like a very vocal minority instead of an accurate representation of how most fans feel.
Then again, maybe the fans who want Ken Jennings to permanently replace Mayim Bialik as a host really are the majority. This user points out that issues with her hosting go beyond people not liking her previous roles. They point out that Bialik has a weird cadence, complete with pauses, that throws off the “flow” of the show (which is even something that previous Jeopardy! contestants have said about Bialik).
And when it comes to whether Ken Jennings might permanently replace Mayim Bialik as host, this fan of the show underscores the simple reason: money talks, baby. If enough fans are tuning out of Jeopardy when Bialik hosts and tuning back in when Jennings returns, this sends the network a powerful message that they are effectively wasting money by keeping an unpopular host on the air. And while nobody can doubt the intelligence of Bialik (she has earned a Ph.D. in real life), the sheer popularity of Jennings should be a big clue that the former Jeopardy! champ should become the full-time replacement for Alex Trebek.
Ultimately, only time will tell if Ken Jennings permanently replaces Mayim Bialik as the sole host of Jeopardy! or if each of them will continue uneasily sharing the throne. Right now, it seems pretty damning that the majority of social media posts concerning Bialik’s tenure on the show are very negative. If this keeps up, then her life is going to become a bit like the show: any statements about her future career must now be in the form of a question, as in “why did they ever let Mayim Bialik host this show?”
