Earlier last week, The Mercury News endorsed recent Jeopardy! guest host Mayim Bialik as their favorite interim to date, and the actress made sure to show her appreciation for their pick.
The San Francisco Bay Area newspaper ran an article on June 15 titled “Which ‘Jeopardy!’ guest host tops the list so far?” Out of the 10 guest hosts that have taken over the game show, the newspaper boiled it down to one. The outlet admitted they were surprised at how much they liked California native and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Yet they selected Bialik as their favorite interim so far.
“Our favorite? This might surprise some, but it’s Mayim Bialik,” the newspaper wrote. “The former cast member of The Big Bang Theory instantly won us over with her charm and genuine enthusiasm for the game. During her two-week stint on Jeopardy!, she was passionate and energetic without being over the top. And although Bialik is obviously super brainy (she’s a neuroscientist, for crying out loud), she comes across as very down-to-earth.”
Quite the endorsement, and one that Bialik appreciated greatly. The actress made sure to give a shout out to the newspaper. In addition, it meant that much more to her since she said her family in the area reads The Mercury News.
“Shout out to my Bay Area buddies at The Mercury News! @mercnews – I’ll gladly be your favorite! My Bay Area family reads the mercury news so this is especially exciting! #thebay #dubnation,” Bialik tweeted.
‘Jeopardy!’ Guest Host Mayime Bialik’s TV Ratings Announced
Mayim Bialik guest-hosted Jeopardy! earlier this month as the 9th interim on the game show. Her two-week stint on the show ran from May 31 to June 11 and drew mixed reviews from critics. Supposedly she garnered the second-lowest rating so far out of the nine interims that have received ratings feedback following the completion of their temporary gig.
A report from ShowBiz411 ranked Bialik even with Dr. Mehmet Oz at 4.9 million viewers. Their rating barely eclipsed CNN anchor Anderson Cooper’s 4.8 million views. While Bialik’s ratings may not have been at the top of the list, she did have plenty of encouraging fans on social media. Many Jeopardy! fans complimented her performance throughout her two weeks on the show.
In fact, she isn’t alone in not mustering up too much extra interest in the game show. The overall ratings have taken a dive since longtime host Alex Trebek passed away in November. Former Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings is the only guest host to put up respectable numbers.
Regardless of who producer Mike Richards and the rest of the game show’s team picks, replacing Trebek will be a tough task. Although a permanent replacement hasn’t been chosen yet, the new host will have some huge shoes to fill.
Currently, Today host, Savannah Guthrie is at the podium until this Friday. Next up are George Stephanopolous, Robin Roberts, and LeVar Burton. Many assume that Jennings is the front runner for the hosting gig. However, a strong performance from any of the guest hosts could shake things up and make the game show’s decision that much harder.
