Jeopardy! to recycle questions and contestants amid WGA strike

Last Updated on August 24, 2023

This…is…Jeopardy! But the way former champ James Holhauzer sees it, the show may as well be in jeopardy. While the hit game show has gone through a number of changes following the 2020 death of Alex Trebek – including a rotation of guest hosts ranging from naturals to Dr. Oz – it has faced yet another challenge amid the Writers Guild of America strike. Chiefly: who will write the questions? As it turns out: whoever already wrote them.

As announced on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast, producer Michael Davies said that the “most optimal solution” moving forward as the strike rages would be to re-use questions / answers from past seasons or utilize those that were written pre-strike and have former contestants buzzing in. “I also 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.” Former Jeopardy! champ James Holzhauer – who went on a 32-game win streak back in 2019 and would go on to be one of the highest earners in the show’s history, taking home nearly $3.5 million – expressed his disapproval of the decision on social media, suggesting it shows a complete disregard for its writers:

This workaround will put the spotlight on contestants who lost their initial go at Jeopardy! during season 37, offering them a shot at redemption. Reigning Jeopardy! mascot Ken Jennings – who won $4.5 million on the show – will serve as host, as Mayim Bialik has bowed out in solidarity of the strike. Meanwhile, Brad Rutter, who holds the most earnings from the show at more than $5 million, will continue to be roasted on Twitter by Holzhauer. One perk coming with this approach, Davies says, is that the prize money for second and third place contestants will both increase by $1,000.

How do you feel about this decision regarding the upcoming season of Jeopardy!? Do you think it is a proper way to go about airing the show amid the writers strike? Give us your take below!