Jeopardy Schedule overhaul,
BACK AND BUZZING Schedule overhaul, tournament time-out and new host – Jeopardy!’s expected changes to new season ahead of big premiere
The show has already confirmed some changes while producers teased others
Darian Lusk
JEOPARDY! isn't getting the overhaul happening next door at Wheel of Fortune, but there are many changes in store that fans will want to be clued in on.
Season 41 of Jeopardy! premieres on September 9, 2024, and airs every weeknight until July 25, 2025.
on 41 of Jeopardy!
10
Ken Jennings hosts Season 41 of Jeopardy!Credit: Getty
Many updates and tweaks are coming to the iconic quiz show
10
Many updates and tweaks are coming to the iconic quiz showCredit: Sony Pictures Entertainment
FINAL GOODBYE-IM
Ken Jennings will host Season 41, and for the first time, he will be the game show's sole official host.
The former champion hosted the entire previous season, but Mayim Bialik was still technically an official co-host.
After a lengthy hiatus, the actress was dismissed from the syndicated series in December 2023.
However, she was still listed on the show's website, that is, until this summer.
Read more on Jeopardy!
KEN YOU SURVIVE? Jeopardy! champ reveals ‘exhausting’ part of show that 'surprises people'
MONEY MOVES Every new game show coming in 2024 - and all the big celebs who are attached
Her exit from the entire franchise was all but confirmed when producers erased the last traces of her from their website.
Mayim Bialik was still listed as host with Ken Jennings
10
Mayim Bialik was still listed as host with Ken JenningsCredit: Jeopardy!.com
Now, only Ken Jennings is listed as host for the first time
10
Now, only Ken Jennings is listed as host for the first timeCredit: Jeopardy.com
FEWER TOURNAMENTS
Viewers with "tournament fatigue" will be comforted to know that Season 41 will have fewer and shorter tournaments.
Around eight of the new season's 11 months will consist of regular-style episodes with new players, not tournaments.
Only four tournaments will air this season, and they'll be in one block.
Producers previously shared they'd read the room on the Inside Jeopardy! Podcast and hinted there would be less tournament play.
Play Video
Jeopardy! bosses may replace Ken Jennings with Colin Jost (1)
The previous season was dominated by tournaments packed with past players instead of good old-fashioned Jeopardy!
Some were because of the fall's WGA strike, others because the game show producers wanted to expand into a more sports-like model.
The tournament mayhem caused a huge backlash, and fans took to a Season 41-dedicated Reddit thread celebrating the switchback.
"It will be a better season without the overdoing of 'tournaments,'" one fan wrote.
"Not going to name names but I could go the rest of my Jeopardy life never seeing 6-8 people ever again," wrote another.
Famed contestant Sam Kavanaugh also told The U.S. Sun that he hopes a more diverse contestant pool will emerge this season with the return to form.
"There's a lot of latent talent out there; I hope that for everyone's sake, the show is able to [find that balance] and continue to grow in that direction," he said. "One of the joys of the show is, 'oh, you're a waiter,' and you watch them do well, and it's super affirming."
That said, there will still be more tournaments than in past decades, with one-third of the season being tournament play.
Jeopardy! Contestant Rules
Passing Jeopardy!'s online Anytime Test is hard enough, but there are also many rules players must follow once they make it to the stage:
The returning champion is always at the leftmost podium and keeps playing until they lose.
Contestants don't have to say “who is” or “what is” in the first round but must do so in Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy.
Contestants can change their responses as long as Ken Jennings or the judges haven't made a ruling.
The minimum wager for a Daily Double is $5. The minimum wager for Final Jeopardy! is $0.
Written responses in Final Jeopardy! do not have to be spelled correctly, but they must be phonetically correct (the judges decide this).
If there’s a tie after Final Jeopardy, the tied players enter a bonus clue shootout, and whoever buzzes in first correctly wins.
If all three contestants wager everything in Final Jeopardy! and are incorrect, leaving them with $0, there will be no returning champion (it's happened before—six times).
SCHEDULE OVERHAUL
Not only will Season 41 have fewer tournaments but they will also be moved to the middle of the season.
The season premieres with brand-new contestants instead of tournaments like the last two seasons.
New contestants will take the stage from September until early 2025, competing to qualify for the next Tournament of Champions.
This change was also confirmed on Inside Jeopardy!, where producers shared the postseason will be in the winter.
There won't be a single tournament until 2025, and regular games of normal contestants will continue until the New Year.
“All of the remaining of 2024 of syndicated Jeopardy!, you are watching regular games," the insiders previously shared.
The 2025 ToC and its surrounding events will occur from January 2025 until April 2025.
So all those Second Chances, Wildcards, and JITs that fans were subject to in Season 40 take up less time and also air later.
Regular non-tournament Jeopardy! will resume in April 2025 and conclude the last four months of the season.
In other words, fans will see fresh faces instead of past players for the first and last chunks of the season.
Celebrity Jeopardy! Season 3 also airs in the winter, not the fall like the past two years (Ken has not been confirmed as host).
NEW PODCAST HOST
A more minor change is coming to the official Inside Jeopardy! podcast, which is celebrating its third year.
Inside Jeopardy! is hosted by producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss and former champion Buzzy Cohen.
The podcast gets into show announcements, recaps every episode and has interviews with big winners.
Inside Jeopardy! will have a new co-host, who many fans think is show judge Michael Harris.
“We’re gonna have perhaps a new special guest,” producer Foss previously teased on the show.
The senior researcher and gameplay analyst can best discuss rulings or show moments that will divide fans.
The Jeopardy! judges table with producer Sarah Foss (left) and analyst Michael Harris (center right)
10
The Jeopardy! judges table with producer Sarah Foss (left) and analyst Michael Harris (center right)Credit: Jeopardy!
MOVE TO STREAMING?
Jeopardy! has no current streaming agreements and is famously unavailable outside of cable.
PlutoTV previously offered past episodes, but the platform recently discontinued its Jeopardy! channel, much to the frustration of fans.
There is currently no way to watch Jeopardy! episodes without cable - even OG shows.
However, producers recently teased a new streaming agreement and plan to change that.
The show posted a hype video to Instagram in August, writing, "We hear you," so fans who've cut the cord will be in luck soon.
"I hope the streaming announcement allows for easy ways to watch the show if you miss it (instead of just a new way to watch much older reruns)," one fan begged in the recent Season 41-based Reddit thread.
"Jeopardy is going to fade into obscurity in the future if it doesn't ditch the 'syndicated OTA only' model."
Jeopardy! promised fans there's 'streaming news' coming soon
10
Jeopardy! promised fans there's 'streaming news' coming soonCredit: Instagram
CATEGORY ON-SCREEN?
A visual change for viewers at home could also be happening this season.
Bosses have teased trying out adding the category name above clues when they fill the screen, and fans are predicting this is the season it happens.
“In the era of HD television, whether or not we should be putting the category on the screen when the clues appear," executive producer Michael Davies shared in 2023.
"People select so fast and they often don't say the name of the category.
"Should we find screen real estate to put the category up every time?"
In the recent Season 41 Reddit thread, fans held out hope that this could be the season category names are added on-screen.
"The category showing while the clue is shown. Please!!!!" one fan begged.
"That would be nice, I do wonder why they've never done that," wrote another.
Jeopardy! bosses previously teased adding the category name above clues
10
Jeopardy! bosses previously teased adding the category name above cluesCredit: NBC
A fan created a proof of concept of the idea
10
A fan created a proof of concept of the ideaCredit: Reddit/u/ExtendJuanSoto
KEN JOINED BY JOST
While Ken will be settling into his role as sole host, he has some friendly competition.
SNL golden boy Colin Jost is hosting the all-new Pop Culture Jeopardy! on Amazon Prime Video.
While there’s no indication that Colin will host anything but Pop Culture Jeopardy, it’s possible.
The show hasn’t named a host yet for Celebrity Jeopardy! Season 3, so Colin could take that from Ken, though it's unlikely.
Either way, adding Pop Culture Jeopardy! is a significant change to the Jeopardy!-verse.
Pop Culture Jeopardy! is currently being taped, and it is expected to premiere in early fall.
Colin Jost - seen here on Weekend Update - is hosting Pop Culture Jeopardy!
10
Colin Jost - seen here on Weekend Update - is hosting Pop Culture Jeopardy!Credit: Getty
Pop Culture Jeopardy! is the first offshoot to be exclusively on streaming and not cable
10
Pop Culture Jeopardy! is the first offshoot to be exclusively on streaming and not cableCredit: Jeopardy!
FRESHER FACES IN MASTERS
Finally, Jeopardy! Masters will expected to be back this May for Season 3.
Contestants Victoria Groce, James Holzhauer and Yogesh Raut are guaranteed to be returning.
The other three Masters, however, will likely not be the usual suspects of Amy Schneider, Mattea Roach, or Matt Amodio and instead be completely different.
The fourth Master will be the winner of the 2025 Tournament of Champions, the fifth will be the winner of the 2025 JIT, and the sixth will be a Producer's Pick.
Jeopardy! airs every weeknight at 7 p.m. ET.
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings