Mayim Bialik to guest host Jeopardy! again after Mike Richards' exit. Could she get the full-time gig?

Mayim Bialik is set to step behind the Jeopardy! lectern again sooner than expected.

The Big Bang Theory star has been tapped to guest host Jeopardy! for three weeks after executive producer Mike Richards stepped down as the new permanent host, CNN reports. Bialik has already been hired to host the quiz show's "primetime and spinoff series," while the plan was for Richards to host the daily syndicated show.

But Richards suddenly stepped down as host last week after old offensive comments of his resurfaced, leaving the show in immediate need of a guest host so it could quickly continue production. Bialik previously served as a Jeopardy! guest host for two weeks earlier this year.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

So is it possible Bialik could end up with the full-time hosting job? CNN reports she's under consideration for it, though there had been some question as to whether she could fit the gig into her schedule. She's currently starring on a Fox sitcom, Call Me Kat.

"The studio loves Mayim but at the time of the decision for the current season, her schedule for Call Me Kat was set and she wouldn't have been able to juggle the syndicated show and her Fox sitcom," a source told CNN. "Now that there is some more time to figure things out, she has become a real viable choice for Sony. It just makes sense to ask her to step in for several weeks while they figure out next steps."

Another frontrunner for the daily gig is reportedly former champion Ken Jennings, who had been a fan favorite during the initial search. Sony says that "additional guest hosts will be announced," though a source told CNN, "They very much don't want to go through another extended audition process." Richards stepped down after he already started taping the new season, and the episodes he filmed are still set to air this September.