Ken Jennings Confirmed to Host ‘Jeopardy’ Season 40 as Mayim Bialik Continues to Strike in Solidarity With Writers

This Ken is officially hosting Jeopardy! Ken Jennings is the confirmed sole host of the historic trivia show, which returns tonight for Season 40, Deadline reports. Mayim Bialik will not be hosting this season as she continues to stand in solidarity with striking writers.

According to the outlet, Jennings will also host Celebrity Jeopardy, which hits TV for Season 2 on Sept. 27. Last season featured Michael Cera, Brendan Hunt and Patton Oswalt, the last of whom landed in second place, per CNN. Stand By Me star Will Wheaton was crowned as the season’s winner.

The record-holding Jeopardy! champ has received his fair share of fan criticism after he was accused of crossing the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) picket line, but he has stood his ground, citing Sony Pictures’ statement that noted his late predecessor Alex Trebek hosted the show during the 2007-2008 WGA strike.

As noted previously on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast, Season 40 will begin with a Season 37 Second Chance tournament, which according to J! Buzz, brings back former contestants who series EP Michael Davies and the production team “believe deserve a second shot.”

Davies and producer and assistant director Sarah Whitcomb also revealed on the podcast that the questions will consist of “a combination of material that [the show’s] WGA writers wrote before the strike, which is still in the database, and material that has been re-deployed from multiple seasons of the show.”

Bialik, who is striking in solidarity with the WGA, is also a member of the currently on-strike SAG-AFTRA.

The Season 40 premiere of Jeopardy! airs tonight at 7/6c. Check the website for local listings.