Ken Jennings to the rescue — again. The former Jeopardy! champion is set to take over Mayim Bialik‘s hosting duties for Celebrity Jeopardy Season 2, a representative for the show confirmed to Entertainment Weekly.
While both Jennings and Bialik are co-hosts of the original game show, The Big Bang Theory star has previously served as the sole host of Celebrity Jeopardy — which features famous contestants competing for the charity of their choice.
This isn’t the first time Jennings has had to take over for Bialik. After she stepped away from taping the final week of Jeopardy! Season 39 back in May to stand in solidarity with the WGA strikers — who are fighting for residuals from streaming companies, among other things — Jennings returned to finish out the season.
Like Jeopardy! Season 40 — which began filming with Jennings last week — Celebrity Jeopardy is slated to return in September.
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However, it could be a while until Bialik returns to her regular hosting duties. According to a previous report by TVInsider, the actress will likely not be coming back to Jeopardy! until a few months into 2024, as long as the WGA strike is resolved. Plus, she may have to choose between hosting the game show and any future acting roles.
Meanwhile, Jeopardy! is receiving its fair share of backlash. Jennings recently came under fire after a number of social media users accused him of “trying to cross the picket lines” by continuing to work on the long-running show.
When one slammed him as a “disgrace” and claimed late Jeopardy host Alex Trebek would “NEVER” work amid a strike, Jennings reminded them that Trebek did, in fact, host during the 2007-2008 strike.
Jeopardy! — which will begin airing its new season Sept. 11 — will recycle old material written by the writers prior to the strike. It will also air never-before-seen episodes as well as bring back previous contestants to compete in a Second Chance Tournament.
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