Mayim Bialik Approached Upcoming 'Jeopardy!' Guest Hosting Stint 'With Tremendous Humility and Respect' for Alex Trebek (Exclusive)

Mayim Bialik will be guest hosting a series of Jeopardy! episodes next month and the Call Me Kat actress recently opened up about how she approached her time behind the show's iconic lectern. Speaking to PopCulture about the incredible opportunity, Bialik joked that the experience "was literally not believable. That's what the word unbelievable is for." She went on to praise late longtime host Alex Trebek and his legacy, calling him "a beloved personality" and "a beloved person on that stage."

"It's something I did with tremendous humility and respect for him and just, I mean, I had an unbelievable time," she added.
"My brain really works the way Jeopardy! brain needs to work." Bialik then shared that hosting Jeopardy! requires you to be able to "think fast and think on your feet." She then quipped that anytime she "didn't pronounce everything perfectly," they would come back and get "it in pickups." Bialik also confirmed that her run as interim host of Jeopardy! will begin on May 31.

Katie Couric, Aaron Rodgers, Bill Whitaker, and Mayim Bialik will each take their turn as guest hosts of Jeopardy!

As a part of each guest host’s appearance, a donation will be made to a charity of their choice.

— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) January 13, 2021

Currently, NFL superstar and Celebrity Jeopardy! winner Aaron Rodgers is serving as guest host of the classic quiz show. Rodgers' episodes follow hosting runs from Jeopardy! Grand Champion Ken Jennings and acclaimed journalist Katie Couric, among others. In addition to Bialik, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper will also be hosting a series of Jeopardy! episodes, as will Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie and CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Bialik has been quite busy lately. She regularly puts out new episodes of her podcast, Mayim Bialik's Breakdown, and she has a new sitcom, Call Me Kat, which aired its Season 1 finale in March. In addition to all that, the actress and neuroscientist also recently joined a Bounty paper towels campaign that aims to help people evolve their cleaning methods.

During her chat with PopCulture, Bialik shared why she partnered with the brand for this new campaign. "I'm one of those people who kind of always uses dishrags because that's just how I am, that's how I clean," she said. "My kids finally said to me, it's time for us to stop using dishrags and dish towels. So enter this Bounty campaign, and it just felt like such a great fit because it's true. Sometimes the kind of thing to do is not to drag around bacteria. Even if you feel like it's better, it's not."