ABC has dropped the key art for Celebrity Jeopardy! Season 2, and Ken Jennings is taking center stage.
The promotional photo comes less than two weeks after ABC revealed Jennings would be taking over the primetime edition of the iconic game show.
Bialik was initially set to remain as host, but after stepping away from the syndicated series earlier this year, the series is forging ahead without her.
The Big Bang Theory alum announced she would depart the 39th season early to stand in solidarity with striking writers amid the WGA strike.
Jennings and Bialik have shared hosting duties in the past, with Bialik typically being the face of the primetime editions… until now.
There’s no telling at this stage whether Bialik plans to return, but a new report has alleged it might not be in the near future.
“Mayim is choosing to stand with the actors like she did the writers and won’t cross the picket lines,” a source told the Messenger.
“She hopes to return to ‘Jeopardy!’ as soon as the strike has been resolved.”
The insider added, “She wasn’t fired.”
“She’s choosing to stand with her union, and because of that, she was told it is unlikely she will return for the rest of the year, even if the strike is resolved before then.”
The daytime edition is set to return on September 11, 2023, but Jennings will continue as the sole host of that version for now.
Executive producer Michael Davies announced some significant changes to the series.
For one, the show will proceed with recycled questions and contestants due to the strike.
“I believe, principally, that it would not be fair to have new contestants,” Davies said on the Inside Jeopardy podcast earlier this month.
“Making their first appearance on the Alex Trebek stage, doing it with non-original material or, as we’ll talk about, a combination of non-original material and material that was written pre-strike.”
“And so we decided that really we needed to invite back and give a second chance in general to players who probably thought that their chance to come back and play on the Alex Trebek stage had gone forever.”
“We’re going to open the season with a second chance tournament for players from Season 37 who lost their initial game,” he confirmed.
“Winners from that will advance to a Season 37 and Season 38 Champions Wildcard.”
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
