Jeopardy! has tapped Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik to return to the lectern as hosts for the quiz show’s remaining episodes in 2021.
The Blossom star will be up first, hosting episodes from September 20th to November 5th, at which point she and the Jeopardy! all-star will trade off duties through the year’s end.
However, at least for now the gig is merely temporary. According to Variety, producers are still searching for a permanent face for the show’s daily episodes following the debacle that was Mike Richards‘ short-lived tenure as host.
Last month, Richards was announced as the winner of the job, but only lasted nine days in his post after scandalous comments he’d made regarding women, little people, and people with disabilities on his former podcast The Randumb Show resurfaced, as well as a number of lawsuits involving his time as an exec on The Price is Right. Eleven days later, he was also dropped from his long-running role as an executive producer on Jeopardy!.
And while the news of Jennings and Bialik taking over as interim hosts may seems to give credence a recent report from Matthew Belloni’s What I’m Hearing newsletter suggesting the former remains the odds-on favorite to replace Richards, some fans are still rallying for LeVar Burton to get the job, including Ryan Reynolds who publicly — and rather cheekily — tweeted his support for the former Reading Rainbow host. As for Bialik, who was recently named as the host of Jeopardy!’s primetime episodes and a potential spinoff series, other commitments have reportedly taken her out of consideration for the gig on a permanent basis.