The clue is Mayim Bialik – if you realized that the answer is, “Who is an American actress, neuroscientist, author and now host of the new primetime version of Jeopardy!?” then you got it right.
The announcement that in late August Bialik would be the first guest host of the new primetime version of the long-running quiz show was the best news about the show since Mike Richards, who was previously announced as the host, had to step down due to offensive remarks he made. Jeopardy’s beloved, veteran host, Alex Trebek, passed away in 2020 and there has been endless speculation about who might take over. Bialik had already been tapped to host some Jeopardy specials, but following Richards’ departure, she stepped into his spot.
Bialik is best known for her work on the hit CBS sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, where she played Amy, a young scientist nerdy enough to win abrasive geek Sheldon Cooper’s heart and persistent enough to hold onto him. She currently plays the main character in Call Me Kat on Fox, a series that is advertised with the tagline, “Disappointing her mother since 1982.” Bialik, who is as religiously observant as she is scientifically curious, also hosts a weekly podcast about mental health called “Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown.” She interrupted her Hollywood career for a few years to get a doctorate and wrote her thesis on a neurological condition called Prader-Willi syndrome.
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In a statement she made in August about joining Jeopardy, she said, “I couldn’t be more thrilled to join the Jeopardy! family. What started out with my 15-year-old repeating a rumor from Instagram that I should guest host the show has turned into one of the most exciting and surreal opportunities of my life!”
A distant cousin of poet Haim Nachman Bialik (1873 -1934), Mayim is a staunch supporter of Israel. A fan of the Jewish a cappella group, the Maccabeats, she and her sons appeared in the group’s 2011 Hanukkah video and she studies Torah with a partner. Will she bring more Judaism-oriented categories to the new Jeopardy? Many of her fans are hoping the answer is: What is a good bet?