JEOPARDY! host Mayim Bialik teared up with “chills” on Thursday.
Before rideshare driver Ryan Long won his 15th game with $279K total, he revealed his plan for his prize money.
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Mayim, 46, is hosting Jeopardy! for the fourth week in a row, returning after alum Ken Jennings’ prior three weeks at the helm and announcement he’d be out for “months.”
“I’m handing the keys back to the talented actor-producer-writer-director (!) Mayim Bialik for a few months,” he surprisingly tweeted, adding, “We are lucky to have her! I’ll be back before the end of the season.”
The permanent hosting slot will be decided by the end of Season 38 in July 2022.
Tonight, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native Ryan rang in his 15th win, already the ninth-longest streak on the show ever – but his gameplay was backseat to his Q&A story that floored the host and fans.
During the segment where contestants share a tidbit about themselves, he was asked by Mayim in a dark blazer and signature specs what he’ll be doing with his winnings.
Ryan, who has shared mostly wonderfully quirky Q&As, unexpectedly gave gameshow fans a gut punch.
“The only thing I have planned is taking my son on a trip, he wants to come out here he wants to see what I’ve been doing.
“He wants to come to California, come to the theme parks – the best thing is, I have time to do this with him now.
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“I don’t have to say, ‘I have work, I can’t do it,’ we have time now, we can go wherever we want,” silence filling the purple-blue stage.
Mayim, who has two sons, fanned her flushed face and replied, “That is wonderful, gave me chills. Alright… back to the game.”
‘HE MADE ME TEAR UP’
Dozens of viewers at home also loved the sentimental segment, and called the quiet quiz wiz one of their favorite players ever.
“I have never rooted for a Jeopardy champion more than I root for Ryan Long,” one fan simply wrote after the champ’s story.
“Ryan Long made me tear up #Jeopardy,” wrote another.
“Ryan is just a damn good human being,” gushed a third. “And a good father, trying his best.”
“Our Hero! #RyanLong We love Ryan so much we are making tee shirts to cheer him on!!!!” wrote a fourth,
A fifth posted, “I’m loving this run of Ryan Long’s, the Uber driver turned champ. Humble guy with a steel trap brain.”
A sixth got a little rowdy and wrote, “I like that Ryan said ‘theme park’ and not Disney. Lol suck it ABC.”
RYAN’S WILD RIDE
Ryan’s big personality, big bets, and humbly hilarious stories have thrilled fans who may not have expected another streak so soon.
He is now eight games shy of Canadian tutor Mattea Roach’s 23-game tear that ended when she lost by $1 earlier this month.
Mattea, Ryan, and Amy Schneider – all from this stunning season – will compete in the Tournament of Champions in November.
During his first Q&A three weeks ago, the contestant pumped out an Arnold Schwarzenegger impression.
Since then, he has shared some of the other jobs he’s worked, including as a bouncer in Philly – where he was chased by a raccoon.
But behind his (sometimes foggy) specs and great go, the 39-year-old has a had it hard – making his streak so much more than just a surprise to fans.
He told The Philadelphia Inquirer that his father died before the start of his senior year of high school, which he “barely” graduated from.
In January 2021, he was hospitalized for several weeks after contracting COVID-19 – and could no longer work his public bus driving job.
He began driving for various rideshare drivers to provide for his eight-year-old boy Nathan, who made his bead necklace that peaks out of his two dress shirts, all he could afford.
He was living paycheck-to-paycheck for more than a year before flying to Culver City.
“I want to take my kid fishing. That’s really where my head is at,” he sweetly told the outlet. “If this opportunity hadn’t come up, I don’t know what I was going to do long-term.”
Tonight Ryan won another $19K and though he has not gotten Final Jeopardy correct in three games, he has an 88% accuracy rating per Daily Box Scores.
He’s responded to 357 clues correctly and 48 incorrectly so far, and two nights ago – quite impressively swept three categories before tonight’s emotional turn.
HOST OF ISSUES
The actress has two sons: Miles and Frederick, born before she began playing Amy in The Big Bang Theory – perhaps why she related to Ryan’s story.
She had her boys with ex-husband Michael Stone, to whom she was married between 2003 and 2012 – they now co-parent and live in houses close by.
She’s been a front-seat passenger for impressive winner Ryan’s streak which began on May 20th.
She has made some Q&A jokes that raised eyebrows, an off-color joke about marijuana last week, and also seemed to misunderstand the legacy of the band Queen – but has also grown on many fans despite Ken’s closer alignment to the show.
Mayim also regularly used the term “single Jeopardy” to refer to the first round of the game – which fans claimed doesn’t exist – and she’s had to answer for that (but not in the form of a question) on a talk show.
“So wait, you recently called the first round ‘Single Jeopardy!’ instead of just Jeopardy! So how did people react to that?” Kelly Clarkson chuckled with the host earlier this month.
“I have clue boards that I review,” Mayim said, to which Kelly nodded.
“And the first one does say ‘Single Jeopardy!’ and the second one says ‘Double Jeopardy,’ so I didn’t make something up that doesn’t exist,” she continued.
“And people lost their minds. We usually call it the Jeopardy! round and one time, we were going to commercial- and I just want you to know that I didn’t go rogue. I have a whole team watching me.”
“But this caused a whole viral Jeopardy! situation,” Mayim added.
Ken and Mayim began filling in for the legendary Alex after his tragic 2020 passing and a fleet of Season 37 celebrity guest hosts, including now-disgraced Mike Richards.
The fact that the hosting slot is still undecided has been a huge point of discussion, as the late Alex had hosted since 1984.
As another fan tweeted recently, “I actually like both Ken and Mayim, so that’s that, at least for me,” though one more replied that the 74-game and Greatest of All Time winner, given his resume, is still a “better fit for the show” between them.
Ryan Long will attempt to cruise to his 16th win tomorrow night.
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