Mayim Bialik has been making a splash since taking over as the host of Jeopardy! after the death of Alex Trebek in 2020, but being the show’s first female host has its drawbacks as well.
The 45-year-old Big Bang Theory alum tells Entertainment Tonight though the gig has “changed my life in enormous ways,” she has a unique set of problems compared to her predecessor.
“Alex wore a different suit every single show, but people didn’t think about it that much because it was navy, or it was gray,” Bialik explains. “Whereas I might wear colors sometimes and you might recognize that jacket because we also have a budget. [But] it’s not about what Mayim Bialik’s wearing, it’s about these contestants and, like, all the random, amazing things that they know.”
Adds Mayim, “I think it’s OK to say there aren’t a lot of females in this kind of position and so I think we’re all learning, you know, the different ways we look at women or think about — you know, it’s not like it’s rocket science. Like, this is all stuff that we’ve been reckoning with for thousands of years.”
Of course, the long-running ABC game show isn’t the only thing on Bialik’s mind these days. She’s also wrapping up season two of her Fox sitcom, Call Me Kat. On top of that, her feature directorial debut, As They Made Us, starring Dustin Hoffman, Dianna Agron and Candice Bergen, is playing in theaters and on demand.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.