Mayim Bialik appears in a 'Jeopardy' clue a year after being fired and fans are not staying quiet

Although Ken Jennings is the face of “Jeopardy!”, his co-host Mayim Bialik also had a considerable presence, and her unceremonious firing did create a buzz among the fans. Viewers still raise their eyebrows whenever she is mentioned on the show, since Bialik hasn't been gone for that long. In a recent episode, she was mentioned as a clue, according to a report in the New York Post, and some viewers felt that producers were being weird in that regard. The contestants competing at the time were Mark Fitzpatrick, Robert Frankie, and “girl-between-gigs” Colleen Kelly.

Kelly had decided to answer the $600 clue, which was in the TV Coupling category. “Sheldon & Amy, pure genius,” the clue read. Without wasting too much time, Kelly had answered, “What is ‘The Big Bang Theory?'” which was correct. Bialik played one of the main characters of the show, Amy Farrah Fowler. She was the love interest of the show’s protagonist, Sheldon Cooper.

After Trebek’s passing, the showrunners hired Jennings and Bialik to be the hosts of the show, but the latter decided against taping the show to support those in the Writers Guild who went on strike in Hollywood in 2023. Jennings taped the rest of seasons 39 and 40 in her absence, and Bialik later revealed that she had been let go as the host of the show. This had come as a shock to many at the time.

“As the holiday break begins in Hollywood, I have some Jeopardy! news. 'Sony has informed me that I will no longer be hosting the syndicated version of Jeopardy!' I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of the ‘Jeopardy!’ family,” she had written on Instagram in December 2023. Even Jennings had said at the time that the news had taken him aback since he loved working with the actor during her time there.

In a discussion on r/Jeopardy, one user picked up on the clue relating to Bialik and made it a point to talk about it. “Always gets me when a Big Bang Theory clue comes up in the post-Mayim era,” they commented under a post. “In a few years, they should do a category where the answers are just all Jeopardy hosts, from Art Fleming, to Mayim Bialik, even George Stephanopoulos,” came a reply to the comment.

Despite being fired, Bialik has remained as professional as she can be when talking about the show. As per a report in ET, the actor said that the show changed her life and made her a popular face in several households. One would believe that being an integral part of The Big Bang Theory would have already done that.

"It’s changed my life in enormous ways. You know, my recognizability and kind of familiarity that people feel with me is a lot more, especially with, like, a nightly show like that, when you’re on a show that’s always in people’s living rooms or wherever they choose to watch,” she explained.