Mayim Bialik confirmed Friday evening that she’s no longer one of the hosts of Jeopardy!. Writing on social media, Bialik says that she has been informed by Sony that “I will no longer be hosting the syndicated version of Jeopardy!”—i.e., the main version of the game show that runs on primetime TV in most markets.
And while Bialik was fairly gracious in her post—making sure to highlight her pending Emmy nomination for the series in the process—news of her departure comes after a contentious year for the celebrated game show. Bialik stepped away from the series back in May (during the filming of the final week of its 39th season) in solidarity with the WGA writer’s strike, while her co-host Ken Jennings stayed on, and has continued to host the series even as labor unrest in Hollywood kicked up over the summer. Meanwhile, the show has had to shuffle many of its plans for its 40th season, as well as its usual run of post-season episodes—especially after several prominent champions voiced a refusal to play in a Tournament Of Champions featuring recycled clues during the strike.
Not that the period that began Bialik’s tenure was especially placid for the show, either: She was one of two hosts, along with Jennings, tapped to run the series after the controversy that broke out when series producer Mike Richards was originally selected as the late Alex Trebek’s replacement. (Richards lasted all of a week before a mixture of allegations about past behaviors, and the fact that he himself had initially been a part of the host-selection process, made his continue holding of the gig untenable.) Since then, Bialik and Jennings have shared duties on the show, trading off on different weeks and the show’s usual run of special events. It’s not clear yet whether Jennings will be kept on in a solo position, or if a new co-host will be selected.