Credit: NBCFor a TV show that has a reputation for intellectualism and light humor, Jeopardy has had a lot of drama in recent years. Now the producer of the long-running game show has revealed the plans for the upcoming 4oth season of Jeopardy, and fans are furious.
In a recent episode of the Inside Jeopardy! companion podcast, executive producer and showrunner Michael Davies admitted that the ongoing Writer’s Guild of America strike had “derailed” plans for the next season and that while he misses the writers who came up with the questions that are the entire point of the show, Jeopardy is just going to keep going without them.
Specifically, Michael Davies said that the show “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.”
Related: ‘Jeopardy’ Enthralled in Controversy, Coming Down to Ken Jennings or Mayim Bialik
Basically, “non-original material” means that Jeopardy is going to use old questions, unused questions, and contestants from previous seasons and just try to keep going.
Davies continued, saying, “[W]e 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. We’re going to open the season with a second chance tournament for players from Season 37 who lost their initial game, and winners from that will advance to a Season 37 and Season 38 Champions Wild Card.”
This means that the current (and sole) host Ken Jennings will be responding to questions that have mostly already been answered and interacting with people who have already appeared on the show.
As you might expect, the Jeopardy fanbase is not happy with this.
‘Jeopardy!’ Bosses Make Controversial Season 40 Decision, Amy Schneider Boycotts Show – https://t.co/407992lGx7#Jeopardy #blindguess @Jeopardy
— JeopardyBlindGuesser (@JeopardyGuesser) July 30, 2023
That can probably be expected from a fan base that has great pride in following along with the questions being asked, so it is entirely probable that many Jeopardy viewers will remember the questions that have been previously asked.
Dangit, Davies, why you gotta toy with us like this? 😭
THIRTY-FOUR ⏩FORTY OR FIGHT! 😅#Jeopardy https://t.co/hgMucI5p8x pic.twitter.com/w1rBoMpi3x
— Pasha Paterson (@zer0bandwidth) August 7, 2023
Even Jeopardy champions are sounding off about the decision to keep Jeopardy going with recycled content, including the fan-favorite “villain” James Holzhauer:
If you don’t have time to listen, here’s the executive summary of today’s announcement:
1:00-2:00: Jeopardy’s writers are invaluable and we couldn’t produce the show without them
2:00-15:00: Here is how we will produce the upcoming season without themhttps://t.co/w6XzbTXutV— James Holzhauer (@James_Holzhauer) August 7, 2023
The WGA strike has affected Jeopardy even more than many other shows. The constantly controversial co-host Mayim Bialik has stepped away from the show for the duration of the strike, and Ken Jennings has gotten an increasing amount of backlash from fans for not doing the same.
Related: “A Big Advantage Every Show” ‘Jeopardy’ Champion Says There’s a Secret Trick to Winning
Now the show seems ready to stir up even more controversy, so we’ll have to see where things go from here.
Should Jeopardy continue with recycled content and old guests in new episodes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!