Mayim Bialik on Jeopardy!: "I joke that I would give up my first child to host permanently!"

Newsweek

Bialik tells Newsweek about filling in on the syndicated game show following Mike Richards' exit. "My first response, when all of this went down, was to say to the Jeopardy! team: 'How can I help?' Because I am part of this family," says Bialik. "I feel very honored to have been given the responsibility and the opportunity to step up into this hosting position. It's been as dreamy as it was for the two days that I guest hosted. I work very long days, but they fly by. We shoot five episodes a day and I get to meet fascinating people from all walks of life." Bialik adds: "When I left The Big Bang Theory, I said that there would never be another job like it. It was the best job I had ever had, besides being a parent. I can now say that there is no other job I'd rather have than this job on Jeopardy!. I joke that I would give up my first child to host permanently! I think my son and I have a close enough bond that he will come back to me! The way I see it is that I am in service in this job; in service to the clues and the contestants. Even though there is so much talk about me, I really feel like this is the job that is least about me. At 45 years old, after acting from the age of 11, it is fascinating that this dream job—one that I've been given the opportunity to dip a toe into—is the job where I need to make it not about me. If I mess up, it becomes about me. I need to simply be of service to the show. Obviously I bring my personality to the stage, but for me this really is an opportunity to ensure that the focus is not on me. As an actor that's hard; as a recovering narcissist, that's hard! But I know that for Jeopardy! fans the show is best when you're not thinking about the host as much. To be part of such an iconic experience is completely astounding."