‘Jeopardy’ Chaos Never Ends: Mayim Bialik Coming Back?

Jeopardy fans just never get a break.

Since the sad passing of longtime host Alex Trebek in 2020, Jeopardy has been in a continual state of chaos. Although Trebek was not the original host of the beloved quiz show (Art Fleming presented the show from 1964 to 1979), he became synonymous with the program and its multiple variants, like Celebrity Jeopardy and Tournament of Champions. After he departed the show, the huge question was who could possibly take his place.

It turns out that no one has really been able to. Jeopardy producers first presented in a series of guest hosts, which most fans assumed was an extended audition process. The roster included longtime quiz show figures like Ken Jennings and Buzzy Cohen, TV personalities like Fox Sports broadcaster Joe Buck, talk show host Mehmet Oz, professional football player Aaron Rodgers, and media personality Katie Couric.

Related: Mayim Bialik Returns to TV After ‘Jeopardy’ Firing

Fans were taken by surprise when, instead, largely unknown producer Mike Richards was announced as the public face of the show. Things got even weirder when he nearly immediately stepped down from the role (and left the show after that) when controversial past podcast remarks and allegations of misbehavior from his prior employment at The Price Is Right surfaced.

Later, Richards would push the idea that he had been set up to fail, saying, “Everyone was so angry because it looked like I had gone into a room and picked myself, and that’s not what happens in television, but I understood that that’s what the outward appearances were.”

Things calmed down after that. Just kidding!

Iconic champion Ken Jennings was put in charge of the classic version of the show, while actress Mayim Bialik took over the Celebrity Edition. Almost immediately, a very vocal faction of fans called for Bialik’s firing, claiming that she was unprofessional and broke the rules of the game show to help contestants. To be fair, Jeopardy producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss did later reveal that Bialik basically had to be coaching through her hosting style, saying:

“[Mayim Bialik] is constantly impressed and often even surprised at how many things our Jeopardy contestants can recall so quickly…So it was something we talked about… That, as impressive as it is, just say, ‘Yes, correct, you got it.’ Because they are amazing, and you are going to be continually impressed by their knowledge.”

Mayim Bialik has since been let go from the show, with Ken Jennings serving as sole host of the various American versions of the show.

According to executive producer Michael Davies, Jennings became the central host after various TV stations made it clear they didn’t want multiple figures helming the show, saying, “Over the past two-and-a-half seasons, what we’ve heard from a lot of television stations and other interested parties is that they wanted more consistency. They wanted a single host.”

Related: ‘Jeopardy’ Enrages Conservative Fans With “Woke” Pronouns, Boycott Threatened

However, that very same producer also said that the network was actively in discussion to bring Mayim Bialik, saying, she “is a superb host. We hope to continue working with her on primetime versions—this conversation is ongoing.”

Now, the actress/former host has chimed in, telling Fox News Digital that she was potentially going to return to the game show franchise.

She told the show, “I’m definitely still a fan of the show and very honored that I was nominated for an Emmy for my work there. That is something that I got to change my bio, that I was nominated for Jeopardy. So, yeah, it’s something I’m still very proud of. And yeah, we’ll see what happens this season.”

As they say, where there’s Jeopardy smoke, there’s Jeopardy fire. A lot of people seem to be talking about the return of a controversial host…and it’s not like the show hasn’t changed its mind a bunch of times recently.

Do you want Jeopardy to bring back Mayim Bialik as host? Sound off below!