'Jeopardy!' Fans Want A Host... Not An Actress Playing A Host: 'It's Not Authentic'

Actress Mayim Bialikrevealed that she wants to become the new permanent host of “Jeopardy!”

During the Critic’s Choice Awards on Sunday, Bialik told ET reporter Lauren Zima that she will be hosting “Jeopardy!” up until Friday, May 6, and “hopefully” beyond that.

She added that she also wants to become the first female host of the show, saying, “I think being a female is its own mark. My grandparents were immigrants to this country, so I think for me, being in two generations being a woman and a host in that iconic role blows my mind.”

However, fans still haven’t embraced the former “The Big Bang Theory” star as the new face of “Jeopardy!”. In addition to her Fox sitcom, “Call Me Kat,” the “Blossom” actress just made her big directorial debut and expressed a desire to tell more stories in the future.

Between acting and directing in major projects, fans are concerned that Bialik won’t be able to make “Jeopardy!” her main focus.

News of Mayim Bialik’s recent interview made it to the “Jeopardy!” Reddit forum, where people were vocal in supporting “Jeopardy!” Greatest of All Time Tournament Winner Ken Jennings as the new permanent host. Ken formed a friendship with late host Alex Trebek back in 2004 after he won 74 games in a row, which is still the highest “Jeopardy!” win streak of all time.

His widow, Jean Trebek, even gave Ken Alex's cufflinks before he hosted his first episode, which many fans took as a sign that Alex Trebek would have approved of Ken as host and a passing of the torch.

“God just go away, Ken was the right choice the day jeopardy resumed filming after Alex's death and he's still the right choice now,” one user wrote.

“I still can't get over that interview from a few months ago where Mayim didn't know why Jeopardy gave the answers and not the clues,” another recalled. “That interview alone should disqualify her from hosting.”

“Yeah here’s the source,” another added. Normally I wouldn’t care if someone didn’t watch J! then wanted to get involved but in this instance it just really seems like she shouldn’t all of a sudden get the go ahead to take such a forward role.”

“Ken just ‘gets it’ on so many levels—he’s personable and sincere when chatting with contestants, he’s witty and thoughtful in his comments, and he gets the significance of the show itself,” another shared. “Ken is truly the perfect choice for this position.”

Many fans overwhelmingly supported Ken Jennings as the right choice for the job.

“Absolutely the right choice. I'm a woman and a feminist and I still believe this is the right call,” another said. “Ken is just far better at the job.”

“I'm a woman and a feminist an I absolutely hate the ‘I'm a woman’ argument. It makes you sound so clueless and entitled,” another commented. “The person who's better at the job should get it and in this case, it's Ken.”

“Yes! As a woman and fan, I want the best and most qualified host,” another agreed. “That host is Ken Jennings. Gender is irrelevant here.”

“This isn't a case if Ken got a pass over her because he's a man and she's a woman,” another wrote. “If she's the better host, yes and deservedly so. I'm a woman and yet I much prefer Ken hosting because he is the better host. Mayim was pretty good initially when they were doing the guest host run but now it seems like she's focusing more of herself than the contestants whenever she's on.”

Probably the best explanation of why viewers aren’t clicking with Mayim Bialik came from one user who stated, “My biggest beef with Mayim is that she still doesn't ‘get’ what the game is about. She's an actor playing the role of host when she's on stage. It's not authentic and you can really feel it as a viewer.”

“Exactly. This is what I keep saying. She doesn't feel like a natural fit at all,” another agreed. “It comes across as very ‘actor-playing-the-role-of-a-game-show-host.’ Ken just naturally feels like the host now. It feels like he's meant to be there when he's hosting. It was jarring when we got those few weeks of Mayim again after Ken had been hosting for so long, and when he came back, everything felt back to normal again.”