Mayim Bialik has some secrets to share about hosting the iconic game show “Jeopardy!” along with Ken Jennings.
The “Big Bang Theory” star, 46, recently revealed how she preps to host the trivia series — and how well she works with Jennings, 48, in a profile by the Wall Street Journal.
“It’s been really nice to get to know him,” she said of her apparent pal. “He’s a cultural icon.”
She noted that she was especially impressed by the amount of knowledge he has.
“He’s incredibly smart. He knows so many things, in a way that ‘Jeopardy!’ champions do. Pick anything and he likely knows about it,” Bialik pointed out.
The two started co-hosting “Jeopardy!” on a guest-host basis last year, following the death of longtime emcee Alex Trebek in November 2020 at age 80. The pair became the permanent hosts this July.
The “Call Me Cat” star also admitted that she doesn’t think she could compete against Jennings — a contestant on the series back in the early 2000s — if they were actually opponents on the game show.
“He’s incredibly smart. He knows so many things, in a way that ‘Jeopardy!’ champions do,” Mayim Bialik said of Ken Jennings.FOX Image Collection via Getty ImagesHowever, Bialik believes she would “feel OK about” answering queries on the topics in which she has degrees: “neuroscience, and in Hebrew and Jewish studies.”
The actress additionally acknowledged how popular the show is, noting the wide and very loyal fanbase it has acquired over the years while on the air.
“How much the social media world pays attention to a lot of things about ‘Jeopardy!'” Bialik replied when she was asked what surprised her most as a host. “There’s a tremendous amount of attention to everything, from the transition after Alex passed to me, and then me and Ken, and then the clothing I wear.”
“It’s been really nice to get to know him. He’s a cultural icon,” she noted of Jennings.APBialik also talked about the five-episodes-a-day shooting schedule, for which they are given the clues in advance in preparation for filming.
“So I have to review all those clues, practice pronunciations, look things up that I don’t know, and honestly try to get as much rest as I can the night before because they are long days and I’m on my feet and talking all day,” she said.
Jennings confessed last month that hosting “Jeopardy!” is actually harder than being a player. The former champion holds a record for winning 74 times in a row in 2004.
“Jeopardy!” co-host Jennings first entered the limelight with a 74-game winning streak in 2004. ABC via Getty Images “I mean, I had played so many games right here that I thought, ‘I have a pretty good sense of what hosting is going to be like,'” he revealed to “Good Morning America.”
“Then you realize hosting’s even harder, because you basically have to do everything the contestants do, plus manage the game for them, plus manage the game for the home viewer,” the Washington native added.
