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Mayim Bialik leaves Jeopardy! early in solidarity with writers’ strike — here’s what it means for the show

Mayim Bialik left her hosting duties at Jeopardy! one week early according to Deadline in solidarity with the WGA writer's strike. But Ken Jennings is set to take over.

Mayim Bialik, pictured, and Ken Jennings have been dual hosts of “Jeopardy!”
Mayim Bialik, pictured, and Ken Jennings have been dual hosts of “Jeopardy!”Read moreCourtesy Jeopardy Productions, I

Answer: This Jeopardy! host known for previous starring roles on Blossom and The Big Bang Theory will not participate in the game show’s last week of production. She’s leaving the show one week early in solidarity with the ongoing writers’ strike.

Who is: Mayim Bialik.

According to Deadline, Bialik is skipping out on her final week of hosting duties — which were scheduled to take place next week — before the show takes its regular summer break.

Deadline reports that Ken Jennings, with whom Bialik has shared cohosting duties for the show’s 39th season, will step in as host instead.

Jeopardy! is filmed on the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City, Calif. Sony Pictures Television is one of several production studios impacted by the Writers Guild of America’s ongoing strike, as their members seek a contract that accounts for TV and film’s evolving landscape.

» READ MORE: South Jersey ‘Jeopardy!’ champ Cris Pannullo’s historic run comes to an end

As noted by Deadline, Jeopardy! uses WGA writers, but filming hadn’t been impacted by the strike because questions for the quiz show were already finalized ahead of the strike, which started last week.

Still, even with Bialik leaving her post, the show will go on.

Other Jeopardy! team members — including all of its writers — have joined the strike picket lines so far.

Bialik’s early departure makes Jeopardy! the first game show to be impacted by the WGA strike. Late-night talk shows, including Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Late Show, went dark once the strike started. Saturday Night Live cut its season short. Other syndicated TV shows, such as Philly’s beloved Abbott Elementary, could face shortened or impacted seasons depending on how long the strike lasts.

Bialik spent the last couple of seasons splitting her time between Jeopardy! and her sitcom, Call Me Kat. Fox canceled Kat earlier this week.

Jeopardy! is the most-watched syndicated TV show with about nine million weekly viewers, according to Deadline. Locally, it airs on 6abc.