Taping for Season 40 of Jeopardy is now underway and Mayim Bialik is still nowhere in sight after stepping away from her hosting duties in May due to the writers strike. But when should fans expect to see her back?
According to some reports, it could be some time.
Though Season 40 is slated to premiere on Sept. 11, TVInsider reports that the actress will not be returning to the show until a few months into 2024 if the writer’s strike continues unresolved.
The report also claims that Bialik may have to choose between hosting Jeopardy and any prospective acting roles if the dual strike concludes.
For now, taping for Season 40 already began on Tuesday (Aug. 15) with Bialik’s co-host, Ken Jennings. Reports claim Jennings was present at the taping, where he avoided crossing the picket line at Jeopardy‘s Sony lot because a number of the game show’s writers were picketing.
A Reddit user who claimed to be at Tuesday’s taping confirmed Jennings was hosting. They were taping a Second Chance Tournament with players from Season 37, who will then go on to compete against Season 38 champions.
According to Jeopardy showrunner Michael Davies, Season 40 will continue on schedule using “non-original material,” meaning material written by their WGA writers before the strike and recycled material from previous seasons. The new season will begin with previous contestants competing against each other in a Second Chance Tournament, rather than bringing on new contestants with recycled material.
As TVInsider notes, Jennings previously hosted Season 39 from September 2022 to December 2022, while Bialik hosted Celebrity Jeopardy during the same time. She then took over hosting the main game show from January 2023 till this past May, when she left in solidarity with the WGA strike and Jennings filled in for the remainder of the season.
Jennings caught some flack from Jeopardy users who called him a “scab” for continuing to host the game show in Bialik’s absence.
But the host has decided to continue with his duties, citing Alex Trebek’s decision to do the same during the 2007-2008 writers strike.
Jeopardy Season 40 premieres Sept. 11.