‘Jeopardy!’ will have new episodes despite the ongoing strikes. Here’s what’s changing.
"Jeopardy!" will press on with a new season despite the ongoing writers and actors strikes, but it means changes to its format.
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What are recycled clues and previous contestants?
Despite the ongoing actors and writers strikes, Jeopardy! will return with new episodes next month. But the popular quiz show, which is entering its 40th season, will feature some major changes and delay the start of its regular competition indefinitely.
For starters, Jeopardy! will feature a combination of new clues written before the strike and ”repurposed” clues from previous episodes, producer Michael Davies announced Monday on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast.
Because the show will turn to old clues, Davies said, Jeopardy! will give losing contestants from the show’s 37th season a second chance instead of featuring new contestants. The winners will advance to a Season 37 and Season 38 Champions Wildcard.
“I believe, principally, that it would not be fair to have new contestants making their first appearance on the Alex Trebek Stage, doing it with non-original material or … a combination of non-original material and material that was written pre-strike,” Davies said. “So we decided that really, we needed to invite back and give a second chance in general to players who probably thought that their chance to come back and play on the Alex Trebek Stage had gone forever.”
The new season of Jeopardy! will begin Sept. 11.
Davis said producers had planned to kick off the new season with the Second Chance tournament and Champions Wildcard leading into the annual Tournament of Champions, but they were forced to push that back after New Jersey’s Cris Pannullo and previous Jeopardy! champs said they would boycott the show if its writers were still on strike.
The next Tournament of Champions won’t be filmed until the writers strike ends, Davis said.
“I understand that the best episodes that are possible are episodes that feature our writers writing original material and the very best contestants that we’ve always put on the air playing that original material,” Davies said.
Davies outlined a couple of other updates, including:
Celebrity Jeopardy! will return for a second season, featuring original material written before writers went on strike.
Jeopardy! will increase its consolation prizes by $1,000. Contestants who finish in second place will now receive $3,000, and third-place finishers will receive $2,000.
It’s unclear when the regular competition for Season 40 will begin, though it appears unlikely it will start before the writer’s strike ends.
One aspect left unaddressed is who will be hosting Jeopardy! when filming for the new season gets underway. Host and actress Mayim Bialik left the show during the final week of filming in May due to the strike, and fellow host and former Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings has received pressure not to cross the picket line after filling in for Bialik so filming could be completed.
Sony Pictures Television did not respond to a request for comment.
Taping is scheduled to begin Aug. 15, with five episodes shot daily, according to a call for audience members from the casting company On Camera Audiences.
Writers in Hollywood began striking in May after they were unable to agree on a new contract with the top film and television studios. Actors joined them on the picket line last month after also failing to come to terms on a new deal.
Despite the ongoing strikes, Jeopardy! can continue production based on a new network TV code deal signed last year, which covers game shows, soap operas, talk shows, and variety shows.