Jeopardy's Ken Jennings Gave Us His Thoughts On Mayim Bialik News And Whether James Holzhauer Could Appear On Celebrity Jeopardy

Following its holiday break, Celebrity Jeopardy! will return with a trio of semifinal games that will then lead into the big Season 2 finale on January 23, 2024, with nine famous contestants like Steven Weber still vying for the grand prize. During that hiatus, the syndicated version of the vaunted game show dropped  the bombshell that Mayim Bialik isn’t returning as co-host, with Ken Jennings set to continue on as the trivia ship’s sole skipper.

CinemaBlend chatted up Jeopardy! champ-turned-emcee Ken Jennings about the back half of Celebrity Jeopardy!’s second season — as seen above —- but I was first able to get his thoughts on the big promotion. When I asked if the public announcement about his and Bialik’s respective futures regarding the show came as a surprise at all, Jennings confirmed it was all indeed unexpected, saying:

I was very surprised. I did not get a heads up. I can't really speak to Mayim's thought process there, but I really enjoyed working with her these past couple of years. It was kind of an untried thing to have two people co-host a show like this, and I really enjoyed it. But I think just first and foremost, I'm a fan of Jeopardy; like a lifelong fan, going back to when I was 10 years old, running home from school to watch Jeopardy. And it's just such a mitzvah that I'm still on this show. Like, I can't believe it. I'm happy to host whenever I'm called upon.

As Jeopardy!'s public-facing side, Ken Jennings isn't as involved behind the scenes on that level as fans might think, with hosting decisions falling on the shoulders of the show's producers and studio execs. So while he's obviously as hopeful as anyone that his tenure as host continues long into the future, it's not exactly his call.

So whatever the alleged reasons for Mayim Bialik leaving Jeopardy! may be, Jennings still has only good things to say about her and their unprecedented stint as dual hosts. For all that they shared the title for more than a year, their paths rarely crossed behind the scenes, though they did compete against each other on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.

In any case, Ken Jennings is definitely grateful to continue leading one of his lifelong pop culture loves, and he's currently in no danger of losing his #2 spot on the list of Jeopardy!'s biggest winners of all time. Much to the presumed chagrin of Jennings'  "villainous" rival James Holzhauer.

Ken Jennings On Possibility Of Seeing James Holzhauer On Celebrity Jeopardy

Speaking of The Chase co-genius James Holzhauer (who is #3 on the aforementioned list of former champions), I'd previously wondered if the Las Vegas millionaire's current zeitgeist status might ever land him on a future season of Celebrity Jeopardy!, assuming executive producer Michael Davies would be sneaky enough to invite him. So since I was already talking to Ken Jennings, I got his take on whether that could ever be a reality, and his answer convinced me it should never happen. In his words:

James Holzhauer on Celebrity Jeopardy. I mean, I'm sure he would be flattered. But it really would just be like letting Godzilla into the casino. Celebrity Jeopardy is not easy, don't get me wrong. It's not like the SNL setup where the joke is that these people can't play the game. I admire the heck out of these stars who are going on a for-real quiz show, and they do very well. They constantly surprise me with the legit Jeopardy stuff they know. But that said, I mean, James Holzhauer... You don't want to do that to these likable celebrities.

It's the kind of idea that I'll admit sounded way more practical in my head before I said it out loud. Of course it would be a ridiculous idea to invite one of Jeopardy!'s least incorrect players onto the celebrity-fueled spinoff. Barring some highly unexpected situations, his games would be too easily predictable, without many go-to options who may feasibly best him.

Maybe the better idea would be to have Holzhauer return to face off against the first two Celebrity Jeopardy! winners, as opposed to having him go through the tournament himself. But even that might be too one-sided.

Jennings offered another analogy - one involving sports, which can often be Kryptonite for players - before summing things up in a complimentary way:

It would be like LeBron showing up at a pickup game. I love James, but let's keep him where he belongs.

I do still wonder if it's possible we'll see any other former Jeoaprdy! champs popping up on the celebrity version, even if they're not quite as seasoned as James Holzhauer. It's all about the charities!

Celebrity Jeopardy! will return for an exciting round of semifinals on Tuesday, January 2, with episodes available to stream the next day with a Hulu subscription.