The Ringer:

The answer appeared obvious: Mayim Bialik. The actor, after all, had just been announced as Richards’s backup—the host of occasional prime-time specials on ABC and yet-to-be-announced spinoffs, while Richards would take the more prominent role as the host of the daily syndicated edition. So when Bialik, waiting in the hospital while her boyfriend was having hip replacement surgery, told her agent to reach out to Sony, the studio was only too eager to put a deal together to get Bialik to host the daily show as soon as possible.

“From the hospital waiting room, I said to my agent, ‘Please ask how we can help,’” Bialik recalled to Glamour later. “That’s literally what I said. I don’t want to seem opportunistic, but I’m part of this family now.”

Almost two and a half years later, her role in that family has changed. On December 15, Bialik wrote in a statement that she had been informed by Sony that she would “no longer be hosting the syndicated version of Jeopardy!” Jeopardy! confirmed to The Ringer that Bialik is under contract until the end of the season with a one-year option remaining. With several months of taping remaining this season, Bialik was informed that her option would not be picked up.

DC’s own Claire McNear — who quite literally wrote the book on Jeopardy! — gets some exclusive intel on where things went wrong with Bialik’s run on the show. You’ll not be surprised to see it was a story of one option becoming more difficult, while the other silently levels up.

Ken was always my favorite of the two, so I was happy to see this change. Maybe we’ll see her host some of the future spinoffs?