Jeopardy! fans rage over series break after delayed start and long tournaments as viewers question ‘I don’t understand’
JEOPARDY! fans have raged over the show’s current hiatus before Season 41 kicks off in September.
The longtime game show hosted by Ken Jennings, 50, crowned its Season 40 champion during the season finale on Friday.
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Jeopardy! has some viewers giving their thoughts on its current summer hiatus as it heads into Season 41Credit: ABC
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Ken Jennings gives a confused expression while responding to a contestant on Jeopardy!Credit: Jeopardy!
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Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik pose on the set of Call Me Kat during the Call Me Ken Jennings episodeCredit: Getty
After watching Rachel Bradley defeat her opponents in the season’s final episode, some viewers have questioned the need for a weeks-long break.
“With the delayed season start, I don’t understand why they felt a need to quit now. I’m pretty tired of all the tournament games that ran for months, and now they’re on repeat,” one person wrote in an online thread.
Others chimed in, with someone adding, “Probably because of the conflicts with the Olympics in some areas where they are played on the same network.”
“The tournaments were still considered to be part of season 40. The season start was not delayed. They have contracts to make a certain number of episodes. They fulfilled that,” another noted.
The concern comes after the WGA strike impacted Season 40, which changed the show’s schedule to have only four months of regular play.
Jeopardy! will be showing reruns from Season 40 for its annual summer break starting on Monday, July 29.
Season 41 will officially start on September 9, 2024, and run through July 2025.
SEASON 40 FINALE
Friday’s episode was Ken’s first season finale alone after Mayim Bialik’s departure in December.
After longtime host Alex Trebek passed away in 2020, the two had originally split hosting duties.
Jeopardy! has major schedule change during new episode as viewers are left ‘frustrated’ over ‘unpleasant surprise’
At the end of Friday’s finale, the contestant-turned-host gave a heartfelt farewell speech to fans as he took center stage.
“I’m Ken Jennings, on behalf of all of us at Jeopardy! thanks for watching Season 40,” he said.
“We’ll be back on Monday with some of our best shows of the season and then we’ll see you in September!”
The airing saw winner Rachel take on two-day champ Davey Morrison from Provo, Utah, and Steve Babish from San Jose, California.
Jeopardy! Host Timeline
Jeopardy! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts after the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are all of the hosts since the game show’s inception in 1964.
Art Fleming – 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.
Alex Trebek – 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted Jeopardy!’s modern iteration for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.
Guest hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested out a series of guest hosts for week or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers.
Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for one week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.
Mayim Bialik – 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.
Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the longest-winning contestant ever) joined Mayim as a guest host and they split hosting duties.
Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a lengthy hiatus, having stood with the writer’s strike, and Ken was named sole host.
Ken now helms all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the nightly show, and other primetime specials like Masters.
However, many fans couldn’t watch the airing because of Paris Olympics TV preemptions.
The show was delayed in some time zones due to the Olympic Games’ opening ceremony, and some people could not watch at all.
As the game show heads into its next season, eight players have qualified for the upcoming Tournament of Champions in regular play.
There’s also a chance players Grant DeYoung and Amar Kakirde could join with four wins under their belts.
The next ToC will be held halfway through the season in early 2025 rather than at the beginning of Season 41.
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Contestant Rachel Bradley smiles for the camera as she is crowned the Jeopardy! Season 40 winner on FridayCredit: Jeopardy!
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Season 40 finale players Davey Morrison, Steve Babish, and Rachel Bradley face off on Friday’s episodeCredit: Jeopardy
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Late Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek poses with Ken Jennings after his earnings from his record-breaking streak in 2004Credit: Getty
