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Not sure every guest host was trying out for the job as permanent host. Many of them already had other gigs.
Richards was excellent, Bialik not so much. Could have been some political posturing to include her in the selection.
As you mentioned, many of the guest hosts already have jobs, so it makes sense that one of the "Jeopardy insiders" ended up as the everyday host. Robin Roberts would have done very well as host, but she isn't leaving Good Morning America. Joe Buck's experience as a sportscaster seems to translate well to Jeopardy, but he isn't leaving Fox Sports.
As for Mayim Bialik, I'm obviously in the minority here as I thought she did just fine. Of course, I am a fairly casual Jeopardy fan, so I wasn't going to be overly critical about any of the guest hosts. I think the important thing to note is that she will only be hosting special tournaments, like the College Championship, that the NYT article stated was going to run in prime time on ABC for two weeks next year. I assume Jeopardy is trying to attract the more casual fans and younger viewers for these special events, so it makes sense that they would go with a celebrity actress that is relatable and can play the part (PhD in Neuroscience from UCLA). I don't think her choice was driven by politics, I think it was driven by demographics.