Mayim Bialik busier than she thought she would be this fall
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mayim Bialik knew she’d be busy around this time of year, but not this busy.
Besides starting production on a new season of Fox’s sitcom Call Me Kat, Bialik was recalled to duty as a Jeopardy! guest host — the result of the quiz show’s publicly messy effort to replace the late Alex Trebek.
Mike Richards exited as newly minted host (and producer) in August after past unsavory podcast comments came to light. Bialik and Jeopardy! champ Ken Jennings were then brought in by studio Sony while its host search begins anew.
Bialik had already been hired as emcee of Jeopardy! prime-time and spinoff series, including a new college championship. She, Jennings and Richards were among the dozen-plus temp hosts who vied earlier this year for the plum job.
While Bialik didn’t speculate on whether she might ultimately be Sony’s pick, she said she considers herself part of the show’s “family” and was glad to help out on the syndicated show around the season-two taping of Call Me Kat.
Returning midseason, it stars Bialik as a single woman who changes up her life by becoming a cat-cafe owner and, when last seen, was caught between her affection for Max (Cheyenne Jackson) and Oscar (Christopher Rivas).
A cat parent herself times three, Bialik is a spokeswoman for Purina’s Pro Plan LiveClear cat food line, developed to reduce feline allergens that can be irritating to humans —- including, the actor noted, her boyfriend.