Mayim Bialik is settling into her job as the host of Jeopardy!. She and Ken Jennings are doing a stellar job righting the ship after the embarrassing hosting search, despite both receiving some backlash from longtime fans of the show. Bialik is now shedding light on what it’s like working on the world-famous game show. Here’s what she has to say.
Everything On The Table
In an interview with the Daily Beast, Bialik left nothing off-limits. She was originally a controversial choice for a host, getting dragged over the coals for controversial comments on vaccination. Now, she says “My children are vaccinated, I am vaccinated.”
Once a proponent of delayed vaccinations, Bialik says she’s been misquoted. “I never said to not get vaccinated. I absolutely believe vaccines work and have always said that. To me, it’s a bit of a manufactured [controversy] and there’s not necessarily a change.” She wouldn’t divulge why she felt delaying her own children’s vaccination was a personal choice but insists she’s always been for vaccination overall.
Pitfalls Of The Job
Alex Trebek always carried a wave of authority with him. Bialik is well aware that the hosting job is more than just a gig, and she admits there’s been a learning curve toward authority. She says it’s all in the voice, “a lot of times when people will say, “Oh, you sound like you think you know it all,” I’ll think, gosh, that’s just because I’m using an affirmative voice.”
She was once even told to tone herself down by the powers that be. Bialik says, “One of my biggest challenges is I’m so impressed that people know the answers that they’ve asked me to tone down how excited I am when people get them right, which I think is a great note to get.” Enthusiasm for the job is one thing, but it seems producers felt she was going overboard.
Hasn’t Been Easy
The Big Bang Theory star reveals her life has changed considerably thanks to her new job. She doesn’t think she has the proper work-life balance yet. “Getting more of a regular Jeopardy! role is not something I anticipated or even actively planned for because I already had a full-time job, so it’s been difficult.” Bialik is getting better day by day at setting these boundaries and routines.
Hosting Jeopardy! seems like a dream job, but Bialik’s learning curve is proof of how hard it can be. Striking the right chord of authority is no easy task.
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