‘Jeopardy!’ Season 40 Big Changes – All the Details

Martin Holmes
25 Comments
Jeopardy!, Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik
Jeopardy!, Inc.

Jeopardy! is almost back for its landmark 40th season. But the beloved show is undergoing significant changes, including new tournaments, a switch of host, significant prize money increases, and much more.

Below is everything that has been announced about the upcoming Jeopardy! season, plus all the latest from behind-the-scenes.

When Does Season 40 Premiere?

The monumental 40th season premieres on Monday, September 11, 2023, and will run until July 26, 2024.

Who is Hosting?

Ken Jennings will be hosting Season 40, which began filming on August 15, 2023. This comes amid the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes, which caused fellow host Mayim Bialik to step away from the show in solidarity with the strikers.

Bialik is said to have had talks with the show’s bosses, who are supportive of her situation and are keen for her to return when the strikes are over. Meanwhile, Jennings has faced backlash from some fans and former players for his decision to cross the picket line.

What is the Season 40 Format?

Showrunner Michael Davies announced earlier this month that Season 40 will use recycled material and material written before the strikes. The season will also use past contestants, kicking off with a Second Chance tournament featuring players from Season 37.

This will be followed by a brand new tournament, the Champions Wild Card, which will pit the winners of the Second Chance series against Season 38 champions.

Details of what will happen beyond the Champions Wild Card are not yet known, but it was previously said there will be no new contestants until the strikes are resolved.

“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 explained on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast.

Will There Be a 2023 Tournament of Champions?

A 2023 TOC is happening, but not until the strikes are over. Several Season 39 champs, including Ray LaLonde, Cris Pannullo, Hannah Wilson, and Ben Chan, have said they would not participate in the TOC until the strikes are concluded.

Fans are hoping the strikes are resolved soon so they can enjoy the new TOC and landmark 40th season, which was meant to be a huge celebration for the beloved game show.

Is There a Prize Money Increase?

Yes, starting in Season 40, consolation prizes for the second and third place finishers will be increased from the standard $1,000. The contestant who finishes second will receive $3,000, and the player in third will receive $2,000.

This comes after Season 39 champ Ben Goldstein complained about the show not covering players’ travel and hotel expenses.

“Interesting discussion of the ‘Why doesn’t #Jeopardy pay airfare and accommodations’ question here,” Goldstein tweeted. “Personally, I think covering travel/lodging would make the show more accessible to a wider range of contestants. Not everyone can afford a trip to LA with no guarantee of payback.”

Many fans agreed with Goldstein, with one viewer tweeting, “At the *very least*, consolation prizes should be increased, to offset the costs of travel/lodging. It’s kinda disappointing seeing people play well into the 5-figure range and then drop to $1,000 or $2,000 after Final.”

Is Celebrity Jeopardy! Returning?

Celebrity Jeopardy is also back next month, premiering on September 27, and will look slightly different. The first season was hosted by Bialik, who will be replaced by Jennings for the upcoming season due to the ongoing strikes. Episodes have already been recorded, but given the actors’ strike it’s not known at this stage who is competing.

A new poster for Celebrity Jeopardy!‘s second season was released earlier this week, featuring the Jeopardy! GOAT front and center.

Ken Jennings Celebrity Jeopardy poster

Jeopardy, Inc

Jeopardy!, Weekdays, check local listings
Celebrity Jeopardy!, Season 2 Premiere, Wednesday, September 27, 8/7c, ABC

Celebrity Jeopardy!Jeopardy!Ken JenningsMayim Bialik



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  1. B

    BlueClover

    So excited for Ken. He’s my favorite and I felt he should have been the host from the beginning. I don’t watch when Mayim is on. Just not a fan

    28 9

    1. C

      CyanPumpkin

      Funny that I am just the opposite way around.

      3 9

  2. G

    GreenWrench

    I think Ken Jennings does a great job! He is good and will continue to get better as he gains more experience. MAYIM should stay with her acting career. She is a very smart lady but her interpersonal skills are lacking as she she seems to find it difficult to interact with contestants. Ken is more on the contestants level and naturally interacts with them. Love Ken !

    14 3

  3. C

    CyanBike

    I think that the comments about how Mayim dresses and how she hosts border on sexist-possibly merely snobbish. Ken is fine. He was too deadly serious in the beginning, and has loosened up. He’s at his best with fellow past champions in the tourneys. She was somewhat awkward at first, and fell into the role more comfortably. How she dresses is irrelevant, unless she was in a party gown. Guys wear suits, that’s it. There’s room for both. The only thing I would change about Mayim’s delivery is that killer pause before the reveal of answer in Double Jeopardy. One of the celeb contestants humorously gave her grief about it.

    12 1

    1. O

      OrangeBike

      Fashion is so subjective. I admire Mayim for being true to herself.

      4 11

    2. G

      GreenApple

      Agree wholeheartedly

      1 3

  4. O

    OrangeBasketball

    Ken Jennings is the perfect person to and in my opinion the ONLY person to host Jeopardy. Mayim can’t dress her way out of a paper bag, but that’s not why she shouldn’t host, she has a terrible rapport with the guests saying inane things

    in the interview portion of the show and giggles inappropriately at the oddest times besides that horrible pause before giving the contestants the right or wrong for their answers. From some of the other conversations I see I’m not the only one who wishes Ken would be the better host, so why don’t the people who publish these articles listen to the people who are watching the show???

    13 5

  5. G

    GreenLobster

    I guess the complaining will never stop, despite that it seems like the Jeopardy bosses want Mayim to return when the strike is over. So when is the complaining going to stop. Unfortunately, despite it going on for over 2 years, I can expect it to go on for as long as either his host. Because no one is good enough. Sorry, but, despite me loving Alex as host, he's gone. Sony had to find replacements, and they found two they like. So complain all you want, it going to make you all sound like a bunch of losers if this continues as long as both is hosting.

    11 4

  6. R

    RedButton

    Funny. And true!!

    9 4

  7. M

    Mulebarn

    I might catch you when the writers strike is over and there has been time for games to be written and filmed.

    Or, I might not.

    3 1

  8. O

    OliveFan

    What is with all these stupid second chances show It sucks go back to the real Jeopardy

  9. O

    OliveCactus

    Ken Jennings . Period……..

    1 1

  10. C

    CyanWeights

    We haven't been able to watch Jeopardy here in Wichita, KS for over two months and no hope of when we can ever see it again.

    1. G

      GoldChilli

      You can watch it on youtube

      3

  11. K

    Kerry

    She could be a good host, but her choice of wardrobe is beneath the show. I understand that she is resistent to change - her choice but then good riddence.

    10 13

    1. G

      GoldBlowdryer

      Perhaps she is not picking out her own outfits for the show. Maybe she has to wear what some wardrobe person tells her to wear. Vanna White and Pat Sajak have wardrobe people.

      3

  12. B

    BlueDice

    Kudos to her for supporting the

    strikers.

    I don't especially care for either one as host....(just throwing that in there.) But I like the game

    2 6

  13. R

    RedBone

    Ken Jennings is an odd fellow. Awkward host at best. Now he has his podcast friend out there dissing Mayim Bialik. I think these guys need to grow up. I know Jennings has his whole troll brigade out there from Day 1 on all these sites. They act like 12 year olds. Going after a woman who sticks to her principles is not a good look.

    5 10

  14. C

    CyanPumpkin

    Stay Dark till after the strike. Use Jennings only for the tournaments He is not a good host and should not be crossing a picket line. Who want to use clues from the trash bin anyhow.

    3 12

  15. O

    OrangeCherries

    I can't understand Jennings. He has a speech issue.

    1 11

  16. O

    OrangeBottle

    While I did like both, I have now lost all respect for Ken for crossing the picket line.

    1 12

  17. C

    CyanController

    I'd like to see more of Mayim hosting. She's just not as stiff as Jennings.

    4 15

    1. O

      OrangeBottle

      I agree 100%

      5

  18. O

    Olive8Ball

    Jennings is totally the wrong choice. We just mute him until the selections begin.Its impossible to have any small amount of respect for him because of how he has changed. When he was a contestant he was a total coward and wimp,,,his wagers were pitiful,,always very low.If he wasnt such a coward, he would have won at least twice as much as he did. Now that that has passed he is arrogant,condesending and brash. If he had just stayed the same person things would be different. But he has done a 180 in the "jerk" direction. We have no respect for him at all. And he never wears suits that fit.

    1 14

  19. O

    OrangeBike

    Jenning's has no class. Show some support for people who actually do the work.

    3 18