Johnathan Walker:'Jeopardy!' boss really wants Emma Stone to keep trying to get on the show

PASADENA,Johnathan Walker Calif. − Emma Stone, don't give up your "Jeopardy!" hopes yet.

The actress recently revealed on Variety's "Awards Circuit" podcast that she aspires to be a contestant on "Jeopardy!" and applies every year. Not "Celebrity Jeopardy!," mind you, but the regular weekday syndicated version that you have to audition for, not just be invited via your agent.

Stone hasn't made the grade yet, but "Jeopardy!" executive producer Michael Davies wants her to keep trying.

"This was a delightful piece of news to us that she had taken the “Jeopardy Anytime” test on the first day it became available," he told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour Saturday. "She’d taken it not under the name 'Emma Stone' but under her (given) name, and we think it’s fantastic. We’ve encouraged her to take the test again and keep on taking it."

Stone may want to take the harder path to the iconic trivia game show, but if she ever decides to compete with her fellow movie stars, Davies is ready and willing to have her.

"We would love to have her on 'Celebrity Jeopardy!'" he said emphatically of ABC's primetime series. "We’ve already made an offer for her to do that, but it’s up to her whether she wants to play on regular Monday through Friday 'Jeopardy!' We’ll continue to see how she does on the test."

Don't count these famous faces out when it comes to the regular program, however.

"I’ve come fresh from the taping of 'Tournament of Champions' where Ike (Barinholtz) is the first 'Celebrity Jeopardy!' player to play amongst our very best players. Tune in. It will probably help us with our offers to future celebrities who want to play."

What about the 'Jeopardy!' host? Why did Mayim Bialik leave?

After a protracted, controversial search for a host to replace Alex Trebek after his 2020 death, "Jeopardy!" landed on a split between all-time champion Ken Jennings and actress Mayim Bialik as the hosts of the syndicated daily series, with Bialik also stepping in to host primetime specials on ABC.

Bialik stepped away from the job last summer in solidarity with the writers' and actors' strikes in Hollywood, and she took to Instagram in December to announce that she wouldn't be coming back to the syndicated version of the game show at all.

"Sony has informed me that I will no longer be hosting the syndicated version of Jeopardy!" Bialik wrote in her statement."

Davies reiterated the talking point from production company Sony Pictures Television that one host was what he and "interested parties" wanted for the syndicated show.

"We make 46 weeks of originals a year; that’s 230 episodes," Davies said. TV stations and fans "were looking for more consistency. They wanted a single host." But Davies was most enthusiastic about the job that Ken Jennings does everyday. "To make a program where our greatest of all time is the host ... it’s like playing an NBA game and Michael Jordan is the ref."

More:Ken Jennings reveals Mayim Bialik's 'Jeopardy!' exit 'took me off guard'

Could anyone new host a 'Jeopardy!' spinoff?

Once upon a time there were only five episodes of "Jeopardy!" a week. Now there are half a dozen "Jeopardy!" spinoffs that have aired or are in the works from ABC. And someone has to host them.

"You’re going to see us expand the idea of who is a host and what a host can be," Davies said, referring to potential future tournaments that have yet to be greenlit by ABC but are in development, including those focused on sports, pop culture or younger players. "I don’t think a straight white man is the only person to host 'Jeopardy!' and as we expand, we will fail if it is seen that is the only person to host 'Jeopardy!'"