'Jeopardy!' Fans Demand Answers About Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings' Different Intros
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Season 38 of Jeopardy! is halfway through its first official season featuring Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik as hosts. This week concluded a double dose of clues and answers following the end of Jeopardy!’s National College Championship. But after seeing the Jeopardy! prodigy and The Big Bang Theory actress rotate at the lectern, viewers noted a subtle difference in how Jeopardy! announcer Johnny Gilbert introduced the TV personalities at the start of every episode.
As Jeopardy! viewers may know, when Ken walks out on to the stage, Johnny says, “And now hosting Jeopardy!, Ken Jennings.” This is in contrast to when Mayim comes out to greet contestants and everyone hears, “And now here is the host of Jeopardy!, Mayim Bialik.”
Throughout their run as cohosts, #Jeopardy Twitter has repeatedly asked for an explanation for this language. “So why is Ken Jennings ‘hosting’ Jeopardy, and Mayim is announced as ‘the host’ of Jeopardy? Asking for a friend. Something you've already decided?” one person wrote.
Most recently, a fan took this question to TV Insider’s Matt Roush and the TV critic addressed it in one of his biweekly Q&As. “I’ve had several viewers ask me about this, and when I reached out to the show, I received no response — and if the hosts have commented on this, I’ve missed it,” he wrote.
Matt continued: “The way I look at it is that the hosts have surely signed off on these introductions, and for Mayim Bialik, it reflects that her role is defined. She’s the host of tournaments and prime-time specials ... and she fills in during the regular show when Ken Jennings isn’t available.”
“Whereas with Ken, he’s serving as the daily host ‘for now,’ and until or unless Jeopardy! names him the permanent host going forward beyond this season, that’s how it will stand,” he concluded.
While Jeopardy! hasn’t officially issued a comment, this explanation makes sense. In mid-September, Ken and Mayim were brought on to the quiz show as temporary guest hosts after former executive producer Mike Richards stepped down from his Jeopardy! permanent host role. Ken was originally named the face of the weekday episodes while Mayim was set to lead Jeopardy! primetime specials — gigs that would also last through the end of 2021. But in early December, news broke that both would be staying on through the entirety of season 38, which will air its last episode in late July.
Mayim accepted the Jeopardy! cohost role back in August knowing that she would officially lead specials. When she's not filming new episodes of Fox’s sitcom Call Me Kat and working on other side projects, Mayim takes the reins from Ken.
On the other hand, after rising to fame in 2004 with his historic 74-game winning streak, Ken joined the Jeopardy! staff behind the cameras as a consulting producer in September 2020 when Alex Trebek personally extended the job offer to him. According to The Washington Post, Ken is in charge of “contestant outreach, consultations about clue writing, appearing in video clues … and being an ambassador for the show.” In other words, he already has a job on the quiz show and he’s just filling in for whoever ultimately takes over cohosting duties with Mayim. What’s more, Ken has his own trivia show, The Chase, with fellow Jeopardy! champions James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter.
So, there you have it. Mayim is by definition a Jeopardy! host and Ken is helping host the show. By the sounds of it, the Jeopardy! fandom is loving him at the podium, but he won’t be there forever.
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