Mayim Bialik Announces Her Departure From Iconic Quiz Show ‘Jeopardy!'

Ken Jennings is poised to become the sole host of the iconic game show Jeopardy! after interim host Mayim Bialik announced that she won't be hosting anymore. Bialik, who was nominated for an Emmy for her efforts on the quiz show following the passing of former host Alex Trebek, started anchoring temporarily; she took over as host permanently last year. For the past few months, the Big Bang Theory actress has not been on the show or its spinoff, Celebrity Jeopardy! She left in support of the Hollywood writers' strike in May, according to Deadline. Bialik wrote a written statement on Instagram with the shocking post captioned "Jeopardy! announcement." 

The message read: "As the Holiday break begins in Hollywood, I have some Jeopardy! news. Sony has informed me that I will no longer be hosting the syndicated version of Jeopardy!." She continued: "I am incredibly honored to have been nominated for a primetime Emmy for hosting this year and am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have been part of the Jeopardy! family. For all of you who have supported me through this journey and to the fans, contestants, writers, and staff of America's favorite quiz show, thank you." As per The US Sun, the comments section was turned off for the announcement post. 

An hour later, Jeopardy! verified the information on their official Instagram page with a written post saying: "Mayim Bialik has announced she will no longer be hosting the syndicated [or nightly] version of Jeopardy!  We have decided to have one host for the syndicated show next season to maintain continuity for our viewers. And Ken Jennings will be the sole host for syndicated Jeopardy! We are truly grateful for all of Mayim's contributions to Jeopardy!, and we hope to work with her in the future on primetime specials." 

Though the two were scheduled to share the role previously held by Trebek, Jeopardy!'s historic season 40 debuted in September with Jennings hosting by himself. Besides, although Bialik has mostly kept quiet about her disappearance, she broke her silence over supporting the SAG strike in a September interview with Vanity Fair. "There’s a lot of complexity to this, but my general statement is always that I come from a union family. My grandparents were immigrants who worked in sweatshops, and my parents were public school teachers." 

Bialik added, "While it’s not for me to personally judge anyone else’s decision, for me, I am a union supporter - pretty much all unions and what they fight for. I believe in that system even if it’s not perfect. I believe in getting educated about why people strike and what they’re striking for." In their statement, Jeopardy! expressed their 'true gratitude' and invited Bialik to host 'specials' in the future.