Jeopardy! fans rage over ‘worst season’ and call out production team for doing ‘poor job’ with show strategy

JEOPARDY! fans raged over the game show’s latest season, calling it the worst to date.

Critics blamed the production team for doing a “poor job” with Jeopardy!’s show strategy.

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Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings during the Jeopardy! Masters final on May 22, 2024Credit: Disney

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Ken Jennings with Jeopardy! Masters contestants Yogesh Raut, Victoria Groce and James HolzhauerCredit: Disney

Season 4 of Jeopardy! concluded last week, and fans claimed it to be the “worst season” yet.

One fan started a discussion on Jeopardy!’s subthread of Reddit.

“This had to be the worst season of Jeopardy I’ve ever seen,” they started.

“The constant, unending tournaments, played for very small stakes — basically for a chance to be one of the first contestants to be eliminated during the next tournament.”

The fan proceeded to put the blame on the show’s production team.

“It’s really all on the production team. They’ve done a poor job this season,” they continued.

“So many of their decisions give the impression of not having been carefully thought out.

The fan acknowledged the “bad” season could’ve been due to the writer’s strike before they suggested, “They should have just aired reruns.”

Fans responded in agreement to the Reddit user.

“Yeah, constant tournaments with recycled players were horrible,” said one viewer.

“And then when they came back to normal shows, they kept having games with questionable nit-picky judges’ decisions, including the one notorious show which had a swing of multiple thousands of dollars.”

“I’m not going to lie, I’ve watched less Jeopardy this season than I’ve watched in years, and it was because of the tournaments,” wrote another.

“Got tired of the unending tournaments, too,” a third said.

OPPOSING THOUGHTS

While many viewers were in agreement with the Reddit user, others thought differently.

“I don’t think it’s all that bad,” expressed one Jeopardy! fan.

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.

“Besides, none of us does a perfect job at work and there are few jobs as visible, yet as invisible, as producer/director on a cultural phenomenon like Jeopardy.”

“They managed to have a full season despite a writer’s strike. If you don’t want to watch, then don’t watch,” commented another.

“Not at all. Jeopardy is Jeopardy no matter who is playing. I still enjoyed it,” disagreed a third.

The Writer’s Guild of America Strike panned out between May and September 2023, putting a hold on TV and film productions.

NEW JEOPARDY! CHAMP

Despite the divided thoughts and writer’s strike, Jeopardy! pressed on and crowned a new champ Friday night.

Newcomer Rachel Bradley won the last show.

Rachel came in second until the very last minute when she led with $23,597, surpassing Steve Babish and two-day champ Davey Morrison.

Season 41 of the hit show will premiere on September 9, 2024, and run through July 2025.

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Ken Jennings and contestants Amy Schneider, James Holzhauer, and Yogesh Raut competiting during the Jeopardy! Masters semifinal roundsCredit: Disney

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Ken Jennings during games nine and 10 of Jeopardy! MastersCredit: Disney