Ken Jennings says Mayim Bialik’s ‘Jeopardy!’ exit caught him ‘off guard’

CNN
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Ken Jennings is opening up in regards to the departure of Mayim Bialik as co-host of the long-running sport present “Jeopardy!”

“It took me off guard, because I loved working with my Mayim and I’m gonna miss her,” Jennings mentioned in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter printed Monday.

“I can’t speak to her decision-making process or her opinions about it,” he added.

In an announcement posted to Bialik’s Instagram web page earlier this month, the actor and writer wrote that Sony, which produces the present, knowledgeable her that she is going to not host the “syndicated version of Jeopardy!”

“I am incredibly honored to have been nominated for a primetime Emmy for hosting this year and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of the Jeopardy! family,” she wrote, including her because of viewers and the present’s workers for “this incredible journey.”

A Sony spokesperson advised CNN in an announcement on the time that Jennings will function “the sole host” for the quiz present, attributing the choice to a need to “maintain continuity for our viewers.”

“We are truly grateful for all of Mayim’s contributions to Jeopardy!, and we hope to continue to work with her on primetime specials,” the assertion concluded.

Bialik and Jennings, a former “Jeopardy!” contestant, initially began co-hosting the present in 2021 on a short lived foundation following the 2020 dying of longtime host Alex Trebek. Producers in July 2022 introduced the duo could be the present’s everlasting hosts.

Jennings, who served as a fill-in host earlier than touchdown the gig completely, advised THR that he feels “extremely lucky to have even been considered for this job as a non-broadcaster.”