Mayim Bialik guest hosting “Jeopardy!” in an episode that aired May 31, 2021. Photo: Screenshot.

The first of a series of “Jeopardy!” episodes guest hosted by Mayim Bialik aired on Monday, making the Jewish actress and neuroscientist only the second woman to host the game show following Katie Couric.

“It is an incredible honor to guest host ‘Jeopardy!,'” the former star of “The Big Bang Theory” said after being introduced at the start of the show. “I was raised in a very creative and academic family, but it wasn’t until high school that I fell in love with science, and that love led me to a PhD in neuroscience. I so appreciate that ‘Jeopardy!’ is a show that tests all aspects of intellect and allows the brightest minds to shine.”

Bialik, who now stars in Fox‘s “Call Me Kat,” holds a doctorate in neuroscience, which she earned from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2007.

After the episode aired, she took to Twitter to discuss her hosting gig and critique herself. She said she rarely watches any of her performances on camera but made an exception this time. “It was so surreal, very surreal to see myself there,” she explained. “I’d say it’s the only thing I’ve ever enjoyed watching myself in, mostly because I’m barely on camera.”

In a pre-show interview on the “Jeopardy!” YouTube channel, Bialik said that part of the reason she wore a suit on the show was to honor its late host Alex Trebek, who died in November 2020.

Bialik will guest host episodes of “Jeopardy!” through June 11. The show will match the cumulative winnings of all contestants who compete during her tenure with a donation to a charity chosen by Bialik, the National Alliance for Mental Illness.

Watch the Final Jeopardy segment from Tuesday’s episode below: