‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Complain They Are Trapped in ‘Tournament Hell’

Martin Holmes November 14, 2023

Ken Jennings for 'Jeopardy!' — ABC/Christopher Willard

Jeopardy! is still in the midst of its tournament season, which was extended due to the recent WGA strikes, and some fans are becoming increasingly frustrated as they await the return of regular episodes with brand-new contestants. And it’s looking certain that it won’t be until April 2024 that the show returns to normal!

The long-running game show is currently airing a Champions Wildcard tournament, which features brief winners from Seasons 37 and 38 competing to earn a spot in the Tournament of Champions. Before the Wildcard competition, the show aired a Second Chance tournament featuring non-winners from Season 37.

Wildcard is expected to wrap up on December 18, but the tournaments don’t end there. The show will then move into its originally scheduled post-season tournaments, including another Second Chance tournament, this time for Season 39 non-winners, and a Champions Wildcard for brief Season 39 winners.

This will be followed by the 2023 Tournament of Champions, featuring multi-day champs from Season 39, and the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament, which will see exceptional players from the show’s past competing to earn a spot in the next Jeopardy! Masters tournament.

As previously confirmed by producers Michael Davies and Sarah Whitcomb Foss, that means new contestant episodes won’t return until at least April 2024.

“Our number one, sort of, imperative right now is to get the post-season back on track,” Davies said last month on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast. “And then after that, our regular season, as many weeks as possible of the regular season after that post-season.”

“I do want to assure everybody, we are going to get to multiple weeks of regular, Virginia, new contestants who have never been on the Alex Trebek stage before,” he continued. “We’re going to get to that at the end of the season. We should have at least 16 weeks.”

Contestants on Jeopardy! Champions Wildcard

Jeopardy, Inc

This seemingly never-ending wait for new contestant episodes is driving some fans crazy, especially those unaware of why the show is stuck in tournament mode.

“We have been in a tournament from hell since September! Will they ever have new players???” asked one frustrated fan on the Jeoaprdy! Reddit forum.

“When is the regular show coming back? Alex [Trebek] is turning in his grave!” wrote another viewer on X (formerly Twitter).

“Why do I keep seeing the same players over and over again? We weren’t this obsessed with tournament of champions and such when Alex was hosting,” said another.

“#Jeopardy tired of tournaments. I actually haven’t watched in weeks. Ready for new contestants and new clues,” wrote another commenter.

“Hey @Jeopardy All these freakin tournaments to start your season is absolute bulls***. No one want to see 20 weeks of loser tournaments. Are you guys hard up on cash…because you are saving $200,000 every week of your stupid tournaments,” said one fan.

“This is definitely an old person complaint, but when the heck will Jeopardy! have NEW contestants who have never been on the show before? It seems like these tournaments of previous contestants have been going on forever,” wrote another.

However, as other fans have explained, there is a reason for the constant tournaments. Jeopardy! had to devise a plan while the WGA strike was ongoing, which meant bringing back former contestants and recycling clues. The TOC was also delayed because many former champs refused to compete while the strikes were ongoing.

“The show had to come up with a backup plan in case the WGA Strike dragged on,” wrote one fan on Reddit. “Even though the strike is over, they’re finishing what they’ve started. Meanwhile, the writers are working on refilling the “clue vault”.”

Season 39 champ Luigi de Guzman added, “The producers could have gone ahead with regular season play like they did during the 2007 strike. They did not. As a player, I appreciated that decision. Going ahead with regular play would have put new players in a tough spot: cross an active picket line or give up their only chance to play.”

'Jeopardy!' Fans React After Thrilling Champions Wildcard Final

“We get it, you want new players. We all do. Try to enjoy the very high level play that you’re seeing, and be grateful there’s ANY Jeopardy in the middle of the biggest strike to hit Hollywood in years,” said Wildcard contestant Nick Cascone.

Mayim Bialik stepped away back in May in solidarity with the strikes, and Ken Jennings has been handling hosting duties ever since. With both the WAG and SAG-AFTRA strikes now over, Bialik can return to filming, though it’s yet to be confirmed when she will be back on the show.

The last time Jeopardy! aired a non-tournament episode with new contestants was the Season 39 finale on July 28, 2023. In that episode, school counselor Lucas Partridge won his third consecutive game, but he’s had to wait on the sidelines ever since.