‘Celebrity Jeopardy!’ Fans React After Big Change on Show
Christopher Willard/Disney via Getty Images
Christopher Willard/Disney via Getty Images
Celebrity Jeopardy! fans have noticed a big change to the spinoff game show that they think is for the better. Comedian Robin Thede from Davenport, Iowa, actor Blake Anderson from Concord, California, and actor and comedian Susie Essman competed against each other on Wednesday, February 12.
Thede won $25, 800 for her charity, Women in Film. Essman came in second with $4,900 for City Harvest. Anderson ended with -$1,100 but was given $500 for his charity, Turtle Conservancy.
Fans think that there is less “goofing around” on the celebrity version of the game show, especially on Season 3, than there used to be in the past. Watchers chimed in on the change and when they think it happened. This realization came during a Reddit thread after last night’s episode.
“Celebrities taking the game seriously,” they captioned the post. “Has anyone noticed that there isn’t as much ‘goofing around’ on Celebrity Jeopardy as there used to be?”
“Much easier to watch now. I wonder if either the producers asked them to tone it down or they just edited out the BS,” replied another.
“Hassan Minhaj made his episode completely unwatchable,” said another.
“Yeah and he caught a lot of flak for it,” replied a Reddit user.
Some fans attributed the changed behavior to certain players, like Ike Barinholtz. “I partially attribute this to Ike Barinholtz in Season 1. I felt that he was the first player on a celebrity-contestant Jeopardy game who kept his goofing around reined in (not nonexistent, but reined in) and played like a “real contestant” and won the whole tournament as a result. Since then, some contestants seem to have noticed the value of “Jeopardy winner bragging rights” (regardless of celebrity status) and followed his cue to varying results,” a fan said.
Fans also believe that the change came after Mayim Bialik stopped hosting in Season 1. Ken Jennings took over when she left the show.
“I think there is a huge difference between season 1 with Mayim hosting and seasons since with Ken hosting. Mayim is their peer, she’s a fellow actor. In many cases, the celebrities competing knew Mayim personally and were friendly with her. But Ken is not from the entertainment industry other than being on Jeopardy. Ken being there makes them take it more seriously,” the fan said.
“I like the way Ken does it better,” said another.
“Ken is also mixing in just the right amount of playfulness to ease the tension imho,” added another.
Other Reddit users believe the change in behavior is due to Jeopardy! making the questions harder for the celebrities.
The next Celebrity Jeopardy! episode will not air until February 26, as the show is taking a two-week hiatus. Those Quarterfinals will have The View‘s Ana Navarro, Dave Friedberg, co-host of the All-In Podcast, and actress Yvette Nicole Brown.
