The ambitious new executive producer of JEOPARDY! announced that he is pushing for the iconic game show to abandon one of its cardinal rules.
EP Michael Davies, joined by producer Sarah Whitcomb-Foss (and a few familiar faces), revealed his big plans in a live event on Friday attended by The US Sun.
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Davies replaced the disgraced Mike Richards as the man responsible for Jeopardy! in 2021.
He’s had no shortage of changes since then, and his new idea would mean there would be even less fresh blood on the game show.
On Inside Jeopardy! Live on tour at The Edge at Hudson Yards in New York City, Foss announced for the first time an upcoming change.
Competitors who competed in youth events will be able to re-enter the regular pool of competitors as adults.
“For the first time, if you competed on Kids Week, Teen Tournament or College Jeopardy, you’ll be able to go back and play on the syndicated show and see if you can run things and have a long streak. We are very excited about this new announcement,” said Foss.
Then came Davies, saying he wanted to relax the eligibility rules even further and allow anyone to re-audition for the late-night show – including major champions – after ten years.
‘AGGRESSIVE PROPOSAL’
“I had a slightly more aggressive proposal,” Davies interrupted.
“I wanted a 10-year rule that would apply to many other game shows, where anyone, after 10 years of being there, could sign up again and continue.”
“We’ll see if I can get this across to Sarah or our colleagues at Sony,” he added, to which producer Foss clarified: “Not yet.”
Davies explained, “I want to see the best Jeopardy! players on that stage, whether or not they played once.”
He expressed disgust with the tradition of a player only being able to compete once outside of the tournament, comparing it to “Lebron James retiring after one season”.
“There’s no reason we can’t have the best players playing this game,” he added.
The boss assured the nervous public: “We also want to discover new people. We want newcomers, but we want to see the best players play.”
‘IT IS NOT NECESSARY’
Redditors noticed the concept and argued that it was overkill, hoping it wouldn’t be implemented like regular Jeopardy! works as is.
“I think it makes sense to give teens/college kids a chance at the regular show, but for those who have already had the chance? I don’t know, it seems repetitive,” wrote one fan.
“I agree with you that it’s probably not necessary. Price is Right added the 10-year eligibility rule because they were starting to have trouble finding enough eligible contestants, but Jeopardy doesn’t have that problem and probably never will,” he wrote other.
“I don’t want anyone other than former child and teen tournament contestants to return to regular Jeopardy,” a third agreed.
“There is a time and a place for multiple former contestants to compete against each other and that is TOC or Second Chance.
“And frankly, I would be upset if it took years to finally get my chance on Jeopardy and I had to compete against Roger Craig or Julia Collins.”
A fourth wrote: “It’s not a level playing field to face people with experience, and it’s shortsighted because it will reduce players who could have been super champions in their own right if they were playing under the same competition rules as the people they want to bring back. “
And one more added: “Honestly, I don’t support this. Nothing against players like Austin, Julia, Larissa and any of them, but they’ve already had their chances. I’d prefer 2 new contestants and maybe having to occasionally invite one back due to a handicap .
“Honestly, I’m fed up with Michael Davies’ antics. The danger was perfectly fine. While yes, I’ve been supportive of the second chance and champions wildcard, I don’t like how he’s playing the format of everything.”
MASTERS GETS ITS LAST PLAYER
That wasn’t the only announcement made at the live event that fans didn’t believe.
The showrunners also announced that their mystery producer choice for Masters 2024 would be Amy Schneider.
Amy will compete against Season 1 champion James Holzhauer, returning contestants Matt Amodio and Mattea Roach, and newcomers Yogesh Raut and Victoria Groce.
The six Jeopardy! contestants will play in the primetime tournament, facing off in two games per hour-long episode, beginning May 1, 2024 on ABC Primetime.
Davies joked: “Gotta get ready for the Redditors,” before announcing: “So firstly, it’s the producer’s choice, but it’s not just me. It’s all the producers”, mentioning ABC and Sony.
“We have to recognize that there were several worthy people. But one person was above all others.”
“I have to believe that they can get up on that stage at the Masters and beat everyone,” he added.
“Secondly, we are a TV show. We depend on the ratings,” he admitted, saying Amy’s “following” was a factor.
Amy placed third at last year’s Masters, eliminating her from this year’s event.
She also lost decisively to Victoria Groce in the recent JIT, which launched Victoria into the Masters and, in the opinion of many, meant that Amy would not compete.
“How do you have a tournament that eliminates people from the masters, but still chooses them…” one fan reacted to the news.
“For the record, as a huge Amy fan… I’m not a huge fan of this pick. It’s a predictable pick and I just don’t know if her gameplay will compare to the other five,” wrote another.
“So what was the point of JIT,” asked a third.
MATT, MATTEA AND KEN ON THE STAGE
Meanwhile, the event also featured winning appearances from upcoming Masters Mattea and Matt Amodio.
Mattea shared that last year’s Masters players have developed a “great bond” and are looking forward to meeting Victoria and Yogesh.
Ken Jennings was the final guest at the recording event and live podcast show – which will tour nationally – and received a standing ovation.
EP Davies said Ken “won the presenter job” and made “something so difficult look easy”.
Ken answered several questions from fans, including the hardest part of hosting, which he said was “Final Jeopardy,” and said that hosting Masters instead of competing is great because “I can enjoy these high-pressure situations without the stress.”
Danger! airs at 7pm ET on ABC – check your local listings.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
