Next week is the upfronts, and the broadcast television networks are making their decisions on which bubble shows will be back next season.
Today we found out that Call Me Kat which starred Mayim Bialik, Swoosie Kurtz, the late Leslie Jordan, Kyla Pratt, Julian Gant, and Cheyenne Jackson, will not be back for a fourth season.
“We are very proud of Call Me Kat,” a Fox rep told TVLine. “But, unfortunately, the audience response to it was not as strong as we had hoped. We are thankful for our partnership with Warner Bros. Television, That’s Wonderful Productions, Sad Clown Productions, BBC Studios, Mayim Bialik, Jim Parsons and the entire cast and crew for their work and dedication to Call Me Kat.”
I think they would’ve gotten another season if they featured the cats more. But since they didn’t, Jeopardy viewers might be getting more Bialik next season.
Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are the top two shows in syndication, and their contracts are up at the end of the season. Therefore, it makes sense that CBS Media Ventures wants to keep them around for a while. So they picked up both game shows for five more seasons.
While the series will be around until 2028, the press release does not mention if the talent will be. Pat Sajak, 76, has hinted he has wants to retire, but will he? And I can’t see Vanna White going anywhere because what woman doesn’t want to be a human Barbie doll and wear all of those beautiful gowns? When it comes to Jeopardy, I have no idea what they will newbies Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik. They have only been hosting for two years, as compared to Sajak and White, who have been doing the job for 40 years and counting.
On October 24th, Leslie Jordan died suddenly on his way to film Call Me Kat. Tonight at 9:30p, the Fox sitcom is going to say goodbye to him.
Mayim Bialik found a way to have part of her friend still appear in the series. “I didn’t know until Leslie died that he and I wore the same size shoes,” the actress wrote. “For our tribute episode, I am wearing one of his signature rainbow sneakers he’s been wearing on our show. They’re under the table and you may not even see them on camera, but I knew they were under there. Looking for any way to keep him close I guess. 🌈 #callmekat”
So watch out for his sneakers as Bialik learns what it is like to walk in the lovable late actor’s shoes. Literally.
Earlier this week, there were rumors that Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings would be back to host the 39th season of Jeopardy. Today, EP Michael Davies confirmed it and explained how they are splitting up their hosting duties.
I write today with the exciting news that we have closed and signed deals with Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings to be the hosts of Jeopardy! moving forward.
The fact is, we have so much Jeopardy! to make, and so many plans for the future, that we always knew we would need multiple hosts for the franchise and we are just so grateful that Mayim and Ken stepped in and stepped up to put the show in a position to succeed. And succeed it has. With Mayim and Ken hosting, the show is considerably up in viewership year over year, with more than 27M viewers tuning in each week this season. When you consider that almost every other show in broadcast television and syndication is declining, this has been a quite remarkable season: we’re the most-watched entertainment show on all of television. Yes, all of television.
In Mayim and Ken, we have two outstanding hosts at the beginning of their Jeopardy! hosting careers who connect with their own unique fanbases, new fans, and the traditional Jeopardy! viewer. Ken will kick off the season in September, host the inaugural Second Chance competition and the heavily anticipated Tournament of Champions featuring Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, Mattea Roach, Ryan Long, and many, many more. His initial hosting run will take us through December. In the meantime, Mayim will host Celebrity Jeopardy! on ABC in primetime. When she takes over from Ken in January, the current plan is to have her host a couple of new tournaments as well as the Jeopardy! National College Championship and as many weeks as she can manage with her other primetime commitment to “Call Me Kat.” We know you value consistency, so we will not flip flop the hosts constantly and will keep you informed about the hosting schedule.
Mayim and Ken are both extraordinarily talented and simply lovely humans. They support the staff and each other. They love and respect this institution of a television program. In return, the staff and I are honored to work alongside them.
To conclude, I want to congratulate both Mayim and Ken. They have both been a joy to work with. They have my commitment, my producer oath, that I will focus on nothing but improving the show around them so that they can do their best work and approach every day in the studio with excitement and energy. And speaking of, we’re back in the Alex Trebek Stage on Monday. I simply can’t wait.
I think this is a smarter plan because now we know who will be hosting and when. What do you think?
