‘Jeopardy!’ Bosses Make Big New Changes to Season 40
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Jeopardy! returns next week, Monday, September 11, for its landmark 40th season after a summer of turmoil and uncertainty due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strikes.
As previously reported, the game show will look quite different when it returns, as the new episodes will kick off with a Second Chance tournament featuring Season 37 contestants rather than new players. The show will also be using recycled material and material written pre-strikes. Because of the writers’ strike the show’s bosses have been forced to make a lot of big changes to Season 40, and the situation is being updated on an almost daily basis.
It’s looking increasingly unlikely that “regular” editions of Jeopardy! will return this year, unless the writers’ strike gets resolved quickly. Show bosses have already scheduled tournaments featuring previous contestants through to the start of December. This means that it could be 2024 before fans see brand new shows with new contestants and new questions.
Here’s how everything stands right now:
Ken Jennings is set to host both Season 40 and the new season of Celebrity Jeopardy as his co-host Mayim Bialik continues to sit out in solidarity with the strikers.
The official Jeopardy! website has revealed the first three days of match-ups for the Second Chance tournament. Monday’s episode will see a face-off between operations manager Jill Tucker, scriptwriter Gabriel Ostler, and accountant Derek Allen.
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Tuesday’s episode sees assistant editor Cody Lawrence, magnetics engineer David Maybury, and baker Susan Schulman take to the podiums. Then, Wednesday’s episode will see a showdown between hardware engineer Hari Parameswaran, writer Donna Vorreyer, and aerospace engineer Matt Wierman.
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The winners of those episodes will move on, with the ultimate winner(s) earning a spot in the Champion’s Wildcard competition, which is set to air following the Second Chance tournament and will feature contestants from Season 37 and 38.
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Reaction to the Second Chance line-up has been mixed, to say the least, with many fans sounding off on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum.
“I only recognize Jill Tucker….I’ve never seen the other players before,” wrote one Reddit user.
“Is this all of them, or are they doing two halves like last year? I’m really surprised/disappointed not to see April Marquet, Michael Cavaliere, or Roy Camara included,” said another fan.
Others, however, were more excited, with one viewer writing, “Super exciting! Definitely happy to see both Davids, Barb, Jill, Deanna and Michalle back. Also pleasantly surprised to see Jilana, Susan and Elaine back. I don’t really remember a few of them but it’s still gonna be exciting!”
The Second Chance tournament is scheduled to run for three weeks and will be immediately followed by the Champions Wildcard, which is seemingly set to run for eight weeks through to the start of December. The winner of the Wildcard competition will cement a spot in the 2023 Tournament of Champions.
“Champions Wildcard will be a chance for any of our players who won at least one game to compete if they don’t already qualify for the Tournament of Champions,” producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss said on the April 3 edition of the Inside Jeopardy! podcast.
“Maybe it’s me, but eight weeks is way too long for a Jeopardy! tournament,” wrote a fan on Reddit, while another added, “I’m not sure I could stand three months of tournaments straight.”
“Are they seriously spamming tournaments until December? I’d honestly rather have Trebek reruns at this point. I am over all the tournaments,” commented another viewer.
The question remains: What will happen after the Champions Wildcard wraps up?
The show’s producers haven’t mentioned any plans beyond December, though they have said the 2023 TOC will not happen until the strikes are resolved. If the strikes end by December, they could start filming new episodes with new contestants. But if the strikes continue, Jeopardy! could face a tough 2024.
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