#Jeopardy Taps Mayim Bialik as Temporary Daytime Host Following Mike Richards’ Exit

Mayim Bialik was announced as the host of primetime spinoffs of Jeopardy! earlier this month.

The news came months after she had a much-loved guest stint at the wheel of the show.

With Mike Richards officially out just days after being set as the host, the search for a new full-time host is underway.

Now, it has been announced that Bialik will oversee 15 episodes, which will be taping when production resumes this week.

As expected, this is only a temporary measure, and more guest hosts will be at the helm of the series when these episodes are filmed.

Around the time Richards was officially confirmed as a host, reports emerged that producers thought Bialik would be best suited to the role, but her commitments away from the show were too much.

Bialik is the lead of FOX midseason comedy Call Me Kat.

Richards officially vacated his hosting duties on the show late last week after a report in The Ringer unearthed comments made by Richards on a since-deleted podcast.

The comments included Richards mocking women’s weight, praising “the average white-guy host,” and calling a model a “booth slut.”

“It is humbling to confront a terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment, thoughtlessness, and insensitivity from nearly a decade ago,” Richards said of the comments, adding:

“Looking back now, there is no excuse, of course, for the comments I made on this podcast and I am deeply sorry.”

He continued, “The podcast was intended to be a series of irreverent conversations between longtime friends who had a history of joking around. Even with the passage of time, it’s more than clear that my attempts to be funny and provocative were not acceptable, and I have removed the episodes.”

“My responsibilities today as a father, husband, and a public personality who speaks to many people through my role on television means I have substantial and serious obligations as a role model, and I intend to live up to them.”

But, Richards changed his tune by officially exiting the series last week, but he will keep his EP credit.

“Dear Team, It pains me that these past incidents and comments have cast such a shadow on Jeopardy! as we look to start a new chapter,” he shared in an internal memo. 

“As I mentioned last week, I was deeply honored to be asked to host the syndicated show and was thrilled by the opportunity to expand my role.”

“However, over the last several days it has become clear that moving forward as host would be too much of a distraction for our fans and not the right move for the show,” he added. 

“As such, I will be stepping down as host effective immediately. As a result, we will be canceling production today. SPT will now resume the search for a permanent syndicated host.”

“In the meantime, we will be bringing back guest hosts to continue production for the new season, details of which will be announced next week.”

“I want to apologize to each of you for the unwanted negative attention that has come to Jeopardy! over the last few weeks and for the confusion and delays this is now causing. I know I have a lot of work to do to regain your trust and confidence,” he concluded the post.

Your thoughts on all the drama?

Hit the comments below.

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.