Every week, it seems like Jeopardy! is the subject of a new controversy. Issues have been brought up with the clues in recent episodes, including those that concern sexism or Taylor Swift‘s dating life. A lawsuit has been filed that brings up discrimination claims against Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. This has led fans to declare that Jeopardy! has lost its magic, with a Reddit thread discussing their issues with the show’s current era. Those issues aren’t completely unfounded, either. Jeopardy! was recently eclipsed by Wheel of Fortune in the ratings, which is a major deal.
But has Jeopardy! lost its magic? I don’t think so; the general concept of the show hasn’t changed, and current host Ken Jennings has proven himself to be a great successor to the late Alex Trebek. The current season does prove that there are a few tweaks that could be made to the show, so here’s what I feel Jeopardy! could do to win back its fans.
’Jeopardy!’s Categories Should Focus More on Knowledge Than Gimmicks
One element that I do feel Jeopardy! has lost out on is the focus on testing contestants’ knowledge. Part of the joy of watching Jeopardy! is seeing who has the brainpower to get to the final round; that’s what made Jennings stand out when he competed on Jeopardy!. However, recent episodes put a heavy focus on pop culture and attempted to shake up the traditional categories. The most infamous of these shakeups is “Rhyme Time,” where contestants’ answers depend on whether they can guess the secret behind a clue that rhymes. Jeopardy! fans are not fans of “Rhyme Time,” as the category reappeared on this week’s episode and led to a flurry of furious posts suggesting that Jeopardy! scratch the category entirely.
I don’t think “Rhyme Time” should be fully eradicated, but I believe it should be spaced out with other classic categories like “Before and After,” or even “Four Letter Words.” There should also be more of a focus on general knowledge, with a dash of pop culture. Don’t get me wrong, I love putting my pop culture knowledge to the test, but having a contestant who knows a broad range of topics makes for a more interesting game. Next month will also see the debut of Pop Culture Jeopardy!, a show hosted by Colin Jost that will test teams of contestants on their pop culture knowledge. It’s the best way to give Jeopardy! a spin-off while focusing on a honed-in topic. That way Jeopardy! can continue to tackle pop culture knowledge without letting the main show get overrun.
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There’s a Reason for the Constant Tournaments on ‘Jeopardy’
One element of Jeopardy! that has bothered fans was the string of tournaments in 2023. Throughout last year, events including the Tournament of Champions, Second Chance Tournament, and Champions Wildcard Tournament brought back past Jeopardy! contestants to participate in various tournament games. Fans once again vented their frustrations online… but they failed to recognize that last year saw the dual strikes by the Writers’ Guild of America and the SAG-AFTRA Guild. The WGA strike hit Jeopardy! hard, as its writers weren’t around to craft new clues. (Yes, there’s actual research that goes into those Jeopardy! clues!) Producer Michael Davies even discussed the effect of the WGA strike on Jeopardy! on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast:
“Our number one, sort of, imperative right now is to get the post-season back on track. And then after that, our regular season, as many weeks as possible of the regular season after that post-season.”
Indeed, recent episodes have gotten back to Jeopardy!‘s standard structure, which I’m happy about. But there’s one current trend that I feel could backfire on the show, and it involves Ken Jennings himself.
‘Jeopardy!’ Shouldn’t Be Pushing So Hard for the Next Ken Jennings
The biggest comment in the Reddit thread that really stuck out to me was a fan saying that Jeopardy! seems to be focused on finding contestants who can be “super champions.” For those unfamiliar with Jeopardy! terminology, a super champion is someone who’s won 10 games or more in a row. While it’s cool to see the rise of new super champions, it also leads to a lack of variety in contestants. Again, the fun of Jeopardy! is seeing folks from all walks of life being able to participate in the show, and having super champs participate can take some of the suspense out of things.
It also feels like Jeopardy!‘s crew is hoping for someone to reach the same status that Ken Jennings did. But Jennings is a one-of-a-kind contestant; when he participated, his winning streaks were a rarity in Jeopardy! history, while his demeanor made him a great choice to serve as the current host. Trying to replicate that success is a one-in-a-million shot, and Jeopardy! should instead focus on diversifying its pool of contestants. Overall, I don’t think Jeopardy! has lost its magic. But it should recalibrate a little. When I was a kid, I loved watching the shows and making guesses to the point where my parents said I should go on the show. I’d like there to be an environment that could give me that chance.
- Release Date
- September 10, 1984
- Creator(s)
- Merv Griffin
Jeopardy! airs every weeknight on ABC in the U.S. Episodes are also available to stream on ABC.com.
Watch on ABC.com
