Jeopardy! Fan Reactions To Mayim Bialik’s Return As Host Are Overwhelmingly One-Sided
Mayim Bialik is back on Jeopardy! and fans were quick to ring in with their reactions on social media. They definitely trended one way
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Ever since the tragic passing of longtime Jeopardy! cultural icon Alex Trebek, the show has struggled to find solid footing around who should take over as host. After an extended “trial” run for a number of different hopefuls, the show thought they had found the solution. But that situation blew up quickly when thought-to-be new host Mike Richards faced a quick ouster because of previous off-show behavior and comments. It necessitated a return of Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings to play fill-in while the higher-ups tried to decide about who should take the gig permanently. Well, in Balik’s return to the podium this week, fans rang in on whether they thought she was up to the task. If social media is any indication, the opinions were decidedly one-sided.
Scrolling through some of the reactions to Mayim Bialik hosting Jeopardy! instead of Ken Jennings right now, it’s easy to see who the more vocal fans wanted in the main role. And it definitely isn’t Bialik. While it’s not all that specific about why fans seem to be leaning (much) more to one side in this situation, it is clear there are some big-time Ken Jennings lovers out there. Check out some of the fan reactions to Mayim Bialik hosting Jeopardy!. If this is how the larger demographics feel about her time on the show then it’s hard to imagine we see her back next season.
And these weren’t the only ones. Among those who likely see themselves as hardcore Jeopardy! fans, there was some serious piling on around Mayim Bialik and her hosting abilities. The hits just kept on rolling in that regard.
So there you have it. It sure appears like there is a growing contingent of Jeopardy! fans who want Mayim Bialik out and Ken Jennings back full-time. Just from a historical sense, there is at least precedence for this kind of tipping towards Jennings as the full-time host. He came arguably the most famous Jeopardy! champion ever when, in 2004, he went on a 74-game winning streak that is yet to be topped. Recent contestant Amy Schneider just ended another fantastic run a couple of weeks ago to get into second place all-time. And those 40-straight wins are still a far cry from where Jennings landed. Jennings is also the all-time leader in standard show winnings with $2.5+ million dollars in the kitty.
Just this sheer amount of time on-screen for Jeopardy! before he landed a guest spot as interim host after the passing of Alex Trebek would seem to give him a leg up over Mayim Balik. Whether the show’s producers see it the same way remains to be seen. And Mayim Bialik, for her part, is definitely aware of some of the criticism and fan reactions levied her way. While speaking with Variety, Bialik said she had to stop reading online comments about her performances because they seemed to be a no-win situation. According to her, either fans said she acted like she knew everything, or they thought she didn’t know anything at all. It will be interesting to see how this plays out with Mayim Bialik and whether she will be in this for the long haul.
