Ken Jennings will host 'Celebrity Jeopardy!,' replacing Mayim Bialik

“Jeopardy!” champion Ken Jennings, who has alternated with actor Mayim Bialik as host of the syndicated daytime game show, will replace her as host of ABC’s prime-time “Celebrity Jeopardy!” Bialik in May had stepped down in solidarity with the strike by the writers union, the WGA, later joined by the actors strike.

Entertainment Weekly on Monday said a “Jeopardy!” representative had confirmed a report by the trade website Deadline that Jennings, 49, would take over for “Big Bang Theory” and “Call Me Kat” star Bialik for season 2 of the celebrity version, set to return Sept. 27. Jennings, 49, was the first interim replacement host following the November 2020 death of longtime host Alex Trebek, with Bialik one of the most popular of the many other rotating interim hosts.

It was unclear if this marked a permanent change or whether Bialik will return after the strikes are settled.

“Jeopardy!” representatives at Sony Pictures Television, the show’s production company, did not respond to a Newsday request for confirmation. Neither Jennings nor Bialik have commented publicly.

Earlier this month, “Jeopardy!” executive producer Michael Davies said on the show’s official podcast, “Inside ‘Jeopardy!,’ ” which he co-hosts, that “Celebrity Jeopardy!” season 2 “was entirely written under the WGA contract before the strike was called. So that material has been organized by our research teams and applied to the show and that is all original, fresh material.”

A celebrity-themed week of daytime "Jeopardy!" was a staple most years from 1992 to 2006, beginning with the Oct, 26, 1992, episode featuring Carol Burnett, Regis Philbin and "Knots Landing" star Donna Mills. Following a long lull, it returned in 2015 for a week. The first prime-time edition of "Celebrity Jeopardy!" premiered Sept. 25, 2022, on ABC.