As the series prepares for a potentially long hiatus due to the ongoing strikes, there is one thing that needs to be said. Without a doubt, the 39th season of Jeopardy! that ran from 2022-2023 may be one of their best seasons ever. I know that this sounds blasphemous, especially given the long shadow that Alex Trebek has over the show. However, there was always going to be concern about how the series would move forward. Nobody could replace Trebek, at least in terms of his charisma and legacy. What will the next era of Jeopardy! going to look like now that the dust has settled and the various controversies have been laid to rest?
To put it candidly, 2021 was one of the messiest and most controversial periods that the quiz show had ever experienced. As much as I enjoyed their rotating line-up of hosts that presented a mix of highs and lows, nobody could forget the potential cratering that followed. Producer Mike Richards attempted to take over as host before being caught, thus leaving the future uncertain. Would the interim placeholders Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik get promoted to full-time? More importantly, would their next producer be more innovative than Richards, finding ways to expand the show and start a new era that improved upon the Trebek years?
Nobody could really predict that in the first season following Trebek’s passing that the series would have some of its most historic moments in several years. Having players like Matt Amodio and Amy Schneider become recognizable faces was what the series needed to remind people that while nobody could replace their former host, the biggest appeal was always about the contestants. The thrill of being able to test your trivia skills was unmatched. Few institutions could match an average episode of Jeopardy! and its ability to make intelligence into the most charming attribute imaginable. Not only that but as the contestants set several records for Top 10 earnings and days won, Jennings proved that he could step up to the plate.
I know that this sounds like I’m a year behind, but it’s important to understand that the ascension of Jeopardy! was something that took time. While the 2021-2022 season presented a lot of potential, I think that it was mostly a placeholder for what was to come. Along with pushing the online test to “anytime,” they were setting up Jeopardy! to be more accessible and omnipresent. It is true that there have been ways to watch older episodes in the past, such as on Netflix, but now there was going to be an embarrassment of riches. Don’t like the new stuff? Well, Pluto TV’s got you covered. As I write this, there’s currently an episode of Trebek-era Jeopardy! running on the free-to-stream service. While it’s not the most comprehensive library imaginable, it’s a nice change of pace for those wanting to spend time with one of TV’s favorite Canadians. The one caveat is that there hasn’t been any significant effort made to have an equivalent for more terrestrial options.
With all of this said, things were about to kick into high gear once the 2022-2023 season started. Outside of a few previous examples like The Greatest Of All Time Tournament, this would be their first major push into primetime TV. Jennings and Bialyk would also split hosting duties with the latter taking most of the buzzier series.
It could be argued that Celebrity Jeopardy! is low hanging fruit compared to the real thing, but credit should be given to the producers for making it entertaining. Given that there have been equally glitzy titles like Celebrity Wheel of Fortune and Celebrity Family Feud filling up ABC’s line-up, it does seem odd that it took a little longer for this moment to happen. However, the calculations would lead to some major surprises. As easy as it is to mock celebrities for answering easy questions or not really earning their spot fairly, the show managed to transcend the limitations by finding contestants that were thrilling to watch. With exception of actors like Hasan Minaj who was a bit too scathing about being there, there was this greater sense of joy that everyone had dreams of being a Jeopardy! winner. As it stands, the match-up in the final between Ike Barinholtz, Patton Oswalt, and Wil Wheaton is some of the most intense gaming seen in a while. With that said, Barinholtz’s win was met with love on all sides, making it easier to recognize the value of competition.
The other competitions were more surprising. While it would be easy to buy watching celebrities in primetime, nobody could expect what would happen. Jeopardy! Masters would find the most successful winners competing against each other in an hour-long airing that combined two matches that were just as zippy as one would expect. Given that this was the second significant broadcast of the season to feature most of these faces, it was interesting to watch figures like Andrew He go from being a dark horse contestant into the potential winner. While he had managed to make it to the finals in the previous tournament, here he was more evenly matched, finding himself going up against names like Mattea Roach, Schneider, Amodio, Sam Buttrey, and one of the most famous Jeopardy! champions from the Pre-Jennings era, James Holzhauer.
To say the least, those invested in the competition of it all had more than enough to be invested in. The evolution was practical, sacrificing gimmicks in favor of expanding their brand respectfully. By the end of Jeopardy! Masters, people like He and Buttrey would become beloved favorites, managing to turn phrases like “Bring it!” into expected catchphrases from other players. The camaraderie has rarely been matched. Even Holzhauer who designed himself as the “game show villain” (he’s also a great host on The Chase) had nothing but respect for his opponents. There were enough playful jabs to undercut the tension and give these tournaments a greater sense of entertainment value. While everyone would follow suit, Holzhauer has become an elder statesman on the show, managing to set the bar for how a new champion should behave.
The most impressive thing was that during Jeopardy! Masters, the airings were so high that they often were only second in the ratings to The NBA Finals. While it could be argued that it was due to limited competition, it’s still impressive to note that a competition with largely show-specific players could compete with The Denver Nuggets was astounding. Whereas The Greatest Of All Time Tournament felt more like a loving send-off to Trebek, Jeopardy! Masters felt like the ushering in of a new era. It’s easy to overlook that the producers saw it as a risk. Even with several decades of cache to fall back on, nobody was sure if people would tune in to see people like Buttrey and Schneider play some very tense games.
This was the culmination of a season that was also challenging itself on a smaller scale. In the weeks leading up to Jeopardy! Masters, the regular series would air a “Second Chance Tournament” where contestants who barely missed the cut were allowed to compete for a spot in their annual Tournament of Champions, of which would land the winner a wild card spot on the primetime show. This was designed as a way to compensate for contestants who often showed up in the wake of someone like Amodio’s historic run who otherwise would’ve won. There were also those who may have made one or two bad wagers that were now allowed to fix their mistakes. As much as this mulligan may sound like filler, it often did prove how stacked the contestants were. Luck comes down to who they’re forced to compete against.
As far as the TV side of things goes, nobody could’ve expected a better way for Jeopardy! to celebrate their new era. Trebek would never truly leave the legacy of the show. Announcer Johnny Gilbert starts every episode the same way by announcing “From the Alex Trebek Stage…” Even Jennings would change his title from “Hosting Jeopardy!” to “The host of Jeopardy!” Enough time has passed. It’s time to see where things will go. Even if it’s arguable that the regular series failed to find as many marquee-ready contestants as last season, there were still endless moments of joy. The Celebrity Jeopardy! contestants would come back to give clues. There was a whole ecosystem building before the viewers’ eyes. Jeopardy! was going nowhere. If anything, it was about to show up everywhere.
Along with making a big splash on TV, Jeopardy! would begin showing up on podcast feeds. It was the first official behind the scenes podcast for the show, hosted by Mary Foss and a list of rotating hosts that included former winner Buzzy Cohen. It was a place to stay up to date on developments in the series, including the potential new tournaments that were months in the making. The one constant was that each episode would cover weekly recaps of the games, discussing player strategies with a necessary enthusiasm that showed just how thrilling an average week of Jeopardy! can be. Along with discussing contestant stories and fashion, it was a chance to recognize the bigger legacy of a series not considered. Winners would be interviewed and questions were answered during a segment where Foss would say “Do the beep boops!’ referring to the old sound effect the board used to make. Not only would this mark essential listening for fans, but it was only a matter of time until Cohen launched his own history-based show This is Jeopardy!... The Story of America’s Favorite Quiz Show.
As of this moment, there’s more than enough content from the previous season for fans to mull over. The podcast is doing summer episodes where they’re interviewing Jeopardy! Masters players. However, it should be noted that the future seems uncertain. While Bialyk was the first to exit the series over the ongoing writers and actors strikes, Jeopardy! has announced that it will be on hiatus until things are resolved. They stand in solidarity with the industry and want to see as much positive change as possible. As of this writing, it is unsure when anything, even beyond Jeopardy!, will start back up. Still, for those who want to dig into the show’s rich history, there are a lot of resources that are worth your time.
While it shouldn’t be seen as a comparison, it’s interesting to discuss the current state of Jeopardy! in the wake of Wheel of Fortune’s upcoming change. Long-term host Pat Sajak has announced that he will be retiring after next season. It’s a momentous day and left many to wonder what will happen next. Will it be his daughter or even Vanna White? The answer would be more tangential than that with Ryan Seacrest. This isn’t to say that he won’t be an admirable host, but it’s interesting to notice the limited legacy that the equally long-running Wheel of Fortune has. There’s no contestant on par with Jennings who became a celebrity in their own right that could take up the mantel. It just goes to show how well-structured Jeopardy! has become. You can become somebody’s favorite in a matter of days or, in very unique cases, minutes.
I don’t know that the show will ever be as beloved as it was during Trebek’s prime, but I think those arguing that the series couldn’t last without him have long been disproven. This is the season that ultimately proved that there’s enough to keep this going for years, maybe even decades. It’s an airtight structure that’s hard to get wrong. More than anything, it shows the value of putting your entertainment in the hands of contestants. So long as they’re having fun, everyone’s having fun. While a good host makes a big difference, it’s about making everyone feel comfortable enough to have fun. After this year, I’d argue Jeopardy! is only gearing up for bigger and better things.
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