THE Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik will step up to the podium to fill Alex Trebek’s iconic shoes on Jeopardy!
Trebek sadly passed away from stage four pancreatic cancer on November 8, 2020.
Acclaimed actress, author, host and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik, who is most recently known for her award-winning role as Amy Farrah Fowler on the hit CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory, is set to host Jeopardy in the next few weeks.
Currently, Bialik is starring in “Call Me Kat” on Fox which she also executive produces.
Although her air date as host is still to be determined, the actress is anxious to step into the role.
“There’s a lot of responsibility that falls on the host,” Bialik, 45, told People.
“I think also there’s a lot of iconic pressure. When I was looking over some of the scripts, I was thinking, how would Alex [Trebek] say this? And that’s probably not who I’m expected to be, Alex Trebek, but in my head, I am Alex Trebek — that’s who I want to be.”
“It’s funny, because there are different kinds of smart. Jeopardy! smart is a category that I’m not really,” she says. “I have a specific group of knowledge that I can handle, but I think every single time, if I was a contestant, I would forget to phrase the answer as a question,” she went on to explain.
“I’ve been an answer, I think two or three times, which is crazy,” she said.
She said stepping up to the podium will be one of the highlights of her career.
“I’ve been saying it’s really one of the most iconic things I think that I’m ever going to do in my career,” Bialik adds.
“It’s going to feel like Forrest Gump, like I’ve been inserted into the Jeopardy! set.”
Jeopardy announced that it will feature other celebrity hosts such as:
Executive producer Mike Richards told USA Today that the show picked guest hosts that wanted to honor Trebek’s longtime work.
Richards said: “There are people just kind of in the orbit that I knew feel very strongly about stepping in, not to try out for the role but to honor Alex. This is not a host competition. These are people who love this game, and their respect for Alex is off the charts.
Adding: “Each person brings their own intense love for the game. Aaron Rodgers loves that game at a visceral level.”
Richards also dished that the show is considering the hosts to become permanent, but nothing will be set in stone until the premiere of the 38th season in September.
New episodes of Jeopardy will be airing on ABC at 7pm every day of the week.
The show is currently on its 37th season.
Previous seasons are available to stream on Netflix with a subscription.
