‘Jeopardy!’: Mayim Bialik & Ken Jennings Talk Hosting Pressures and Negative Fan Comments
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It’s not easy to fill the shoes of a legend, something that Jeopardy! hosts Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings know first hand, having to live up to the precedent set by the late, great Alex Trebek.
The pair have been filling in as hosts since Trebek tragically passed away in 2020 and, last month, were named as the official permanent hosts of the long-running game show. Bialik and Jennings will split hosting duties when the show returns for its 39th season on September 12, 2022.
On the August 29 edition of the Inside Jeopardy podcast, the hosting duo opened up about the pressure of replacing Trebek and the stress that comes with presenting such a beloved format, especially with such a passionate and vocal fanbase. “I feel a tremendous responsibility for other people’s happiness,” Bialik said.
“I watched Alex do it up close, and I couldn’t understand the kind of ease and grace because you’re doing so many things at once, right?” she continued. “You’re trying to run the show for the contestants, you’re part of the game just like the writers of the board, but you’re also trying to interpret it for the folks at home. So it’s like you’re a sportscaster almost. And it goes so fast.”
The Call Me Kat star, who has a doctorate in neuroscience, also spoke of how the game’s speed can be overwhelming. She noted that viewers “don’t realize how many things you’re calculating,” adding, “I feel like if I make a mistake, even if we can go back and edit it, it feels very embarrassing. Because I think people are like, ‘Oh, she’s a celebrity’ or ‘Oh, she’s got a PhD. She shouldn’t make simple math errors.’ But sometimes I do it and it’s very stressful.”
Jennings agreed, saying, “Smart contestants, smart audience, and then on the toss to commercial, I like say my name wrong or something, and I’m like, ‘What is even happening?’.”
Despite the pressure, the pair both said that hosting the show can be extremely satsifying. “It’s just a very intense adrenaline experience you kind of chase for the rest of your life,” Jennings said. “And when the games get really good out here, when the players are really cooking and it’s intense and it’s close, I kind of feel like I’m in there playing, you’re part of the game. You’re part of the show. There’s this transcendent thing that happens where the audience is locked in and I just look for that.”
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