‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Meltdown Over Show’s Summer Hiatus

ABC/Christopher Willard

Jeopardy! might air for 46 weeks of the year, but that isn’t enough for some fans who are desperately craving new episodes amid the summer hiatus.

The long-running game show wrapped up its 40th season on Friday, July 26, and went into its slate of reruns from July 29. The reruns began with the most recent Tournament of Champions, with episodes set to air until August 16. This will be followed by a repeat of the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament from August 19 to September 6.

Season 41 will premiere with new episodes on Monday, September 9. However, that is too long of a wait for some superfans, who have taken to social media to share their disappointment. They are also calling for the show to film more episodes so that it is on 52 weeks a year without repeats.

“I feel lost without J! in the summer,” wrote one viewer on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum. “Why do they need to take a break? Two more weeks of filming would cover the summer!”

Others felt the same, with one commenter writing, “Worst month of the year. They pre-tape you’d think they could avoid this drought somehow.”

Another added, “This is so real. My life moves to the rhythm of Jeopardy. Without it I am untethered, lost, and roaming the dark abysses of this world without any light by which to see.”

Fan favorite contestant Luigi de Guzman replied to the comment, stating, “The Jeopardy crew work incredibly hard all year to make the show. I do not mind that they get to take a couple of weeks of vacation to rest up for an extremely hectic season.”

While others agreed with Guzman, they wished the reruns weren’t so recent, especially after coming off such a long tournament season.

“I don’t like how they’re re-airing something that aired so recently, I forget how they usually do it but it’d be cool if they just did a random run from a few years ago so episodes would at least feel a little more new,” said one fan.

“Yeah and we already had too many tournaments earlier in the year due to the writer’s strike, and for the reruns they choose a tournament?” added another.

Another wrote, “Agree 100%. The powers that be love their tournaments. I enjoy the TOC but I would rather have reruns of regular games.”

“Wish they used it as a chance to show Alex [Trebek] clips,” said another.

Others explained why shows take breaks during the summer, noting, “Lots of shows take summer breaks because TV ratings tank during summer.”

“Double this year with the Olympics,” replied another commenter.

The summer hiatus is even harder this year because PlutoTV recently removed its Jeopardy! (and Wheel of Fortune) channels. Previously, fans had been able to watch reruns of classic episodes on the service.

“That’s the worst part! What a time to lose that,” said one fan regarding the PlutoTV situation.

“We were working our way through Ken’s original run when Pluto stopped showing them,” another added.

Another wrote, “I too am mourning the sudden loss of Pluto Jeopardy. We were excited to see the first ever episode with Alex as host, as he explained the rules and the game. I thought they had just gotten some new (well, old) episodes to show, but it was gone the next day.”

How are you coping with the Jeopardy! hiatus? Are you watching the reruns, or are you ready for new episodes? Let us know in the comments section below.

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