The 40th season of JEOPARDY! is coming to an end next Friday, which means summer reruns are quickly approaching.
Social media users panicked when they realized that very few competitors had qualified for the upcoming Tournament of Champions.
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The final episode of the 40th season of Jeopardy! will air on Friday, July 26th, with reruns starting on Monday, July 29th.
Season 40 was one of the most turbulent yet, resulting in fewer major sequels than usual.
The WGA strike, the departure of co-host Mayim Bialik, and a flurry of filler tournaments have made this a strange time to be a Jeopardy! fan.
This also meant regular episodes with new contestants that only aired from April 2024 until the next finale.
Typically, Danger! brings together its top winners from just the previous season for its annual $250,000 Tournament of Champions.
However, this season’s interruptions have meant there are only eight qualifiers for the ToC.
This left fans worried about the event and the possibility that there wouldn’t be enough players.
‘ONLY EIGHT PLAYERS?’
A fan sparked a discussion on a Jeopardy! Facebook group asking whether defending champion Jay Fisher, who defeated Isaac Hirsch, would qualify.
“With 8 games left in season 40, could Jay Fisher be the next player to reach the TOC?”. the fan asked.
Another replied: “We’ll see… Good player, yes, but not as good as the other winners. Wish him luck, but we’ll see.”
A third speculated: “I’d like to think so. He seems very pleasant and talkative. But would it be cool. Probably not.”
Others were concerned about the small number of those eligible for the ToC.
“I hope so because according to the ToC tracker there are only eight people at the tournament,” one fan worried.
“How are they going to hold a tournament with so few people?” another wondered. “Will they add three-day champions like the last tournament, or even two-day champions?”
REGULAR GAMES FOR ‘ALL OF 2024’
Fans may not realize that the next Contest of Champions won’t begin Season 41 in the fall.
Instead, the ToC will take place in early 2025, in the middle of the next season.
This means there will be a lot more time for Season 41 players to qualify as well.
This schedule revision was announced on Inside Jeopardy! podcast, as bosses explained that the ToC and qualifying events have been postponed.
Regular gameplay will continue until the New Year, unlike the last two seasons, which had fall tournaments.
“Now we have many, many consecutive weeks of original Jeopardy! until we get to the next ToC,” said EP Michael Davies.
He also clarified that “what’s happening in primetime with Masters and Celebrity Jeopardy” will not interfere.
Producer Sarah Foss added, “All the rest of 2024’s syndicated Jeopardy!, you’re watching the regular games.”
This decision follows the backlash from the numerous filler tournaments during the WGA strike and the need for sufficient qualifiers for the next ToC.
In other words, more players will continue to join the ToC tracker until Season 41, and the tournament won’t take place until the New Year.
Therefore, fans can rest easy knowing that the producers will not allow there to be an eight-person ToC.
So far, the qualifiers are Isaac Hirsch (9 wins), Drew Basile (7 wins), Adriana Harmeyer (15 wins), Alison Betts (5 wins) and Dr. Lisa Ann Walter.
With four wins, Grant DeYoung and Amar Kakirde are also likely to participate.
Danger! Universe
Danger! it first aired in 1964 until 1975. Then, the nighttime version began in 1974. Since then, many spinoffs of the game show have emerged. Here they are all:
Danger! – (syndicated) 1974 to present, weekdays on ABC at 7pm ET.
Tournament of Champions – 1984 to present, features the top champions who have appeared on the show since the last tournament.
Second Chance Tournament – 2022 to Present features hand-selected non-winners from the previous season, where the prize is entry into the Champions Wildcard.
Champions Wildcard – 2023 to present, features all one-, two-, and three-day champions from the previous season that are eligible for entry into the Tournament of Champions.
Danger! Invitational Tournament (distribution) – from 2023 to the present, features big names from the past invited by producers to compete for a place in the Masters.
Danger! Masters (primetime) – from 2023 to present, features the six Jeopardy! champions competing against each other.
Celebrity Danger! (Primetime) – From 1992 to the present, celebrities compete against each other to raise money for charity.
Pop Culture Jeopardy (streaming) – from 2024 to present, will feature teams of three in charge of pop culture trivia on Amazon Prime, host and air date to be determined
Danger! eliminated specialized tournaments, such as University Tournaments, Children’s Week and Teacher’s Tournament, to move towards a more sporting model, with the Masters being the top of the Jeopardy pyramid.
Other versions of Jeopardy! have also failed over the years, such as Sports Jeopardy!.
Season 41 will premiere on September 9, 2024 and run until July 25, 2025.
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
