As Jeopardy!’s return approaches, showrunner Michael Davies is revealing some changes to the game plan for the upcoming season amid the ongoing writers strike.
On Monday’s episode of the Inside Jeopardy! podcast, Davies noted that since the “best episodes” of the trivia show are the ones that “feature our writers, writing original material,” the 2022-2023 postseason would have to be postponed. He added that season 40 would proceed with its fall premiere, but with recycled questions and contestants.
“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 as we’ll talk about a combination of non-original material and material that was written pre-strike,” he said. “So 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.”
Specifically, Davies said the season will open with a second chance tournament for players from season 37 who lost their initial game. Those winners will then advance to a season 37 and season 38 Champions Wild Card.
Writers have been on the picket lines since the beginning of May after contract negotiations faltered with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Once the WGA strike ends, Davies said, “We’ll head into our Season 39 post-season, which will culminate with the [Tournament of Champions]. … So episodes at the beginning of the season for the season 37 and season 38 contestants, the material that we’re gonna be using is 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.”
He also noted that Celebrity Jeopardy! will return with all original content since it was completed before the strike.
In addition, the showrunner announced that once “regular” episodes return, second and third place prices will be increased by $1,000 each, making them $3,000 and $2,000 respectively.
At the beginning of the podcast, Davies shared his appreciation for the Jeopardy! writers. “There’s something I have to say right at the outset and that is how much I admire and miss our writers,” he said. “They are beloved and valued members of the Jeopardy! team, just as they value every other member of our team. … This really is a family who made this show.”
The Hollywood Reporter reported last month that the annual Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions would be pushed back and taped after the strike is resolved.
Jeopardy! is set to return Sept. 11 for season 40.
