Mayim Bialik will guest host "Jeopardy !" for episodes airing from May 31 to June 11, 2021.- Bialik told Insider one of her children saw people on
TikTok mentioning she should host. - The "Call Me Kat" star said she's "excited and honored" as a woman and neuroscientist to guest host.
Actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik is guest-hosting "Jeopardy!" at the end of May, and she may have one of her kids (and TikTok) to partially thank for the gig.
"My 15-year-old heard on the TikTok universe that people were saying, 'That girl from "Big Bang Theory" should do it,'" Bialik told Insider while promoting a partnership with Neuriva when asked how her guest-hosting duties came about on the game show.
From there, Bialik, who played Amy on the long-running CBS comedy, contacted her agent to see if this was really a thing fans were discussing online.
A quick Twitter search will bring up many people who had suggested Bialik as a potential "Jeopardy!" host.
"I don't know if it was my 15-year old and having to email my agent that did it or if it was something that was already in the works, but I'm super excited and honored, especially as a woman and as a woman in science to be able to present in this way in 10 snazzy blazers," Bialik said.
"I have to give my kid 10% now," Bialik added, jokingly.
Currently starring on Fox's sitcom "Call Me Kat," Bialik will guest host 10 episodes of "Jeopardy!" airing from May 31 to June 11, 2021.
Bialik is one of several interim "Jeopardy!" hosts after Ken Jennings, Katie Couric, and Green Bay Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
After hosting the show for more than three decades, Alex Trebek died in November, at age 80, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Bialik recalled Trebek doing a guest spot on "Blossom," the coming-of-age NBC series on which she starred for five seasons, but didn't remember interacting with him while filming.
On the season five episode, Joey dreams of being on the game show with his sister, Blossom, and Albert Einstein where he sets a record, winning over $13 million on the series.
"If I remember correctly, they filmed it from his set," Bialik said.
While Bialik is excited to host, the actress thinks she probably wouldn't fare so well as a 'Jeopardy!' contestant herself
"Most people assume that because I'm a neuroscientist, I'm good at 'Jeopardy!'" Bialik said. "I actually would have trouble remembering to frame the answer as a question so I'd probably lose because of that. I have a very specific set of knowledge about very specific categories. If there's anything on like biblical history or neuroscience, I got it."
For her upcoming role as an interim host, in addition to picking out blazers, Bialik did an entire day of rehearsal to prep for show.
"There's like a little deck that they send and, yes, there's a script," Bialik said of some behind-the-scenes secrets fans may not be aware of on the game show. "I've hosted other things before. I'm a science communicator so I'm used to presenting information directly and in a friendly manner. I'm kind of planning on using all those skills."
When asked if she would ever throw her hat into the ring to host more permanently and if that may be of interest, Bialik said, "I think it would be an unbelievable honor to get to be involved in any further way, especially as a woman in science. I'm super open to really anything, but also just so honored to be able to guest, and to, hopefully, not look like a fool."