Celebrity Jeopardy! drops big news with full slate of stars competing through November under host Ken Jennings
CELEBRITY Jeopardy! has unveiled its full schedule and the A-listers who will battle it out starting September 27.
Ken Jennings is hosting the $1million special instead of Mayim Bialik in a big shakeup.
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Celebrity Jeopardy! premieres September 27 with host Ken Jennings
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Here are the first 18 contestants competing out of 27 total and a look at the entire scheduleCredit: ABC
Celebrity Jeopardy! Season 2 will premiere next Wednesday with host Ken on ABC and Hulu.
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Jeopardy! overhauled its website to clue fans in on the first 18 contestants competing out of 27 total.
Mark Duplass (The Morning Show), Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek), and Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts) will be the first three A-listers competing.
Brian Baumgartner (The Office) faces Lisa Ann Walter (comedian) and Timothy Simons (Veep) on October 4.
Christopher Meloni (Law and Order SVU) faces Sherri Shepherd and Katie Nolan (Speed Round) on October 11.
The next three matches were as follows but were taken down from Jeopardy!’s website, a Reddit user claimed.
Mira Sorvino (‘90s classic Romy and Michele), faces Adam Rodriguez (CSI: Miami) and Shane Battier (NBA player) on October 18.
Sheryl Underwood (The Talk), faces Dule Hill (The Wonder Years) and Steven Weber (Wings) on October 25.
Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Peter Schrager (sportscaster), and Peter Facinelli (Nurse Jackie) on November 1.
The latter three matchups were de-listed, the user claimed, but what has been announced will take fans until November 1, as reflected on Jeopardy.com.
The last three quarterfinals with the last nine celebrities are still unannounced (ostensibly because their games haven’t been taped).
The full schedule was listed under the title card: “Watch the stars shine on Celebrity Jeopardy!”
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Mark Duplass (The Morning Show), Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek), and Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts) are the first contestantsCredit: Jeopardy!
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Then, The Office’s Brian Baumgartner faces Lisa Ann Walter (comedian) and Timothy Simons (Veep)Credit: Jeopardy!
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The third week sees Christopher Meloni face Sherri Shepherd and Katie NolanCredit: Jeopardy!
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The matchups will take fans until November 1 – with three quarterfinals and nine more A-listers still to come – then there will be three semifinals and one finalCredit: Jeopardy!
WHAT IS: THE FORMAT?
Celebrity Jeopardy! is in a tournament style where the winner advances to the semifinals each week.
There will be three semi-finals, and they will take place after the first round finishes.
This is a changeup from last year, which saw three quarterfinal games, a semi-final, and then back to quarterfinals.
The semis will whittle the list down to the top three for a one-episode final faceoff.
The episodes are an hour long, featuring a Triple Jeopardy! round.
The overall winner will get $1million (for the charity of their choosing) – last year, the special was won by actor Ike Barenholtz.
FANS ARE MIXED ON CELEB LINEUP
One fan wrote on Reddit: “Dule Hill is great. He co-starred on Psych.”
Another wrote: “Um, I know Sherri Shepard from The View, Mira Sorvino I know the name but not anything she’s done, but the rest I couldn’t tell ya.”
A third wrote: “Sherri Shepherd I know because of Everybody Loves Raymond. Other than that honestly, I have no idea who these people are.”
Game show villain James Holzhauer- a known rival of host Ken- wasn’t sold on the lineup either
He posted to X (formerly Twitter) after the first trailer dropped last week: “Cool teaser, but where are the celebrities?”
BIALIK’S BREAK FROM CELEBRITY JEOPARDY!
Last year, Mayim, 47, hosted the entirety of the special – which returned for the first time since 2015 and without the late host Alex Trebek.
This time, Ken is replacing Mayim as the host for the entire special in a big changeup.
The Big Bang Theory alum is on an extended hiatus from all things Jeopardy!, including Season 40, which premiered last week.
Her break comes amid the ongoing Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes, which caused Mayim to bow out in solidarity with the strikers.
The former Blossom star is a member of the striking actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA.
A source told The Messenger that Mayim might not return to the nightly show until the new year, if not longer.
The insider claimed: “She wasn’t fired.
“She’s choosing to stand with her union, and because of that, she was told it is unlikely she will return for the rest of the year, even if the strike is resolved before then.”
Celebrity Jeopardy! shared a poster featuring Ken [seen above] earlier this month, making it official that he would be hosting instead.
Her exit marks Ken’s first time hosting all programming for Jeopardy!, a big change since they were supposed to split hosting duties.
Amid her overall exit, Mayim was cryptically left out of a Jeopardy! collage photo featuring Ken, whether the snub was intentional or not.
Mayim has been completely uninvolved with both shows since they returned to filming in August.
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Last year, the special was won by Ike Barenholtz, and in a huge changeup, Mayim Bialik will not be hosting itCredit: Getty
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Mayim is off the board from all things Jeopardy! until Hollywood’s strikes endCredit: Getty
