Mayim Bialik leaves final week of ‘Jeopardy!’ in solidarity with writers strike
Standing in solidarity with striking writers, Mayim Bialik is sitting out the final week of “Jeopardy!” tapings.
The current host of the long-running game show reportedly departed her role one week before the end of the season in support of the Writers Guild of America strike, which kicked off last week.
Season 39 of “Jeopardy!” is scheduled to wrap production at the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City between May 16 and May 19. According to Deadline, the show will go on with popular champion Ken Jennings, who shares co-hosting duties with the “Big Bang Theory” star, taking over as host of the remaining 20 episodes. Jennings currently also hosts the primetime “Jeopardy! Masters Tournament” spinoff.
More than 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike May 2 after it was announced that the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) — which represents major Hollywood studios like Disney, NBC Universal and Sony Pictures — couldn’t reach an agreement before the midnight deadline.
Negotiations between both entities have been ongoing for weeks, with writer wages for streaming shows at the center of the discussions.
“Jeopardy!” is produced by Sony Pictures Television and features contributions from WGA writers. At this time, there’s no confirmation if the remaining “Jeopardy!” questions were written in advance of the strike.
Recently renewed for five more years, “Jeopardy!” has aired on ABC-owned stations across the country for more than 30 years.