James Holzhauer, the Jeopardy! champion who broke numerous records on his way to a 32-game winning streak (and a big payday), has criticized the changes coming to the game show next season.
“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 them,” he tweeted.
Jeopardy! executive producer Michael Davies revealed on the latest episode of the Inside Jeopardy podcast that season 40 will rely on recycled clues and contestants due to studio executives not paying Writer’s Guild of America members what they’re worth. “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,” he said. The clues will be a “combination of material that our WGA writers wrote before the strike, which is still in the database and material that is being redeployed from multiple, multiple seasons of the show.”
Still unclear: Who will be standing behind the game show’s iconic lectern when season 40 launches on Monday. September 11. Ken Jennings had been facing pressure to follow co-host Mayim Bialik’s lead in not crossing the picket line. (As you’ll recall, Bialik bowed out of season 39’s final weeks in a public expression of solidarity with the show’s striking writers, prompting Jennings to step in and close out the season.)
It’s going to be a de-aged hologram of Alex Trebek, isn’t it?
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
