DANGER! champion Sam Kavanaugh gave producers his thoughts on the game show’s direction in a rare interview with The US Sun.
The Minnesota-based substitute teacher had a five-day winning streak in 2019 and won the Tournament of Champions in 2021.
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Most recently, Sam participated in the first Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament (JIT) in 2024, reaching the semi-finals.
But the JIT – a mini-tournament featuring the all-time greats – was the latest in a flurry of tournaments that dominated Season 40..
Two-thirds of the season was dedicated to tournaments by previous players rather than introducing new faces.
New players only appeared from April until the end of the season, which ended on Friday, July 26th.
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The tournament overload was partly a workaround for the WGA’s fall strike and partly an attempt to expand into a more sporting model.
But with just four months of regular episodes, viewers have had enough, flooding social media with complaints about “tournament fatigue.” A recent Reddit Thread questioned whether season 40 was the “worst ever”.
The show is now on summer break until season 41 begins on September 9th.
Sam encouraged producers to find a better balance between tournaments and regular shows.
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‘THE GREAT CHALLENGE’
“That series of all the different tournaments and everything, I think a certain segment of the audience are people who see themselves up there,” Sam told The US Sun via Zoom.
“So when you see this there they are not new people up there, I’m sure that was disheartening for a lot of people.
“Now that they’re back to the regular game, that’s the big challenge: balancing the people who are coming back, old favorites, some of those familiar faces and people who perfected the game and that kind of spirit from anyone. off the street.
“People watch and prepare for it, it’s a big part of the audience.
“There’s a lot of latent talent out there; I hope that, for everyone’s sake, the program is able to [find that balance] and continue to grow in that direction.”
Sam emphasized that the bread and butter of Jeopardy! is still seeing ordinary people become trivia titans.
“One of the joys of the show is, ‘Oh, you’re a waiter,’ and you see them do well, and that’s super affirming.”
Danger! The producers appear to have gotten the memo and have stated that they are scaling back tournament play in Season 41.
They are postponing the next Tournament of Champions and qualifying events to Winter 2025, with Second Chances, Wildcards and JITs not taking up as much time.
The next ToC will be held in the winter instead of starting the season. It will feature players from Season 40 and the first half of Season 41, with many more months of regular play first.
‘POSITIVE’ CHANGE
Sam also revealed some behind-the-scenes secrets about the changes made during the most recent season.
Fans may remember the rule that requires players to say the full name of a category whenever they select a clue.
Sam shared that he and his fellow JIT contestants flatly refused to follow the rule, leading to their quick removal.
Sam also applauded a positive change in Season 40 that he said has been little discussed: increasing the consolation prizes to $3,000 and $2,000.
“Going forward, I have a lot of faith in how they run things,” he said, referring to the ambitious new Executive Producer Michael Davies.
“One specific example that went unnoticed during Michael Davies’ tenure is that they increased the consolation prizes.
“There was really no pressure to do it, I think it was the right thing to do.
“It’s really exciting to see that because if you have someone coming in with a lot of money and time, that’s not a problem.
“But if someone is a single parent and works hourly, you’re losing money when it’s $1,000 for the third-place consolation prize.
“That discouraged a lot of people from trying. For me, I would have lost money in 2019 if I came third.
“That was really good and shows that they are thinking about how to cultivate a good group of competitors.”
‘FIELD OF DREAMS MOMENT’
Sam has a unique perspective, having competed against three hosts: Alex Trebek, guest host Buzzy Cohen (who delivered his ToC with aplomb), and current host Ken Jennings.
Their Tournament of Champions was the first after Alex’s death and was held without an audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was also the last to introduce its tried-and-true 15-player model, which Sam said he still prefers overall.
But Sam isn’t opposed to Jeopardy! becoming “more like sports” – that’s how he watches the show. He competes in every game with a practice bell in his room, as if he were upstairs.
Sam, who is known for his extremely aggressive Daily Double style, à la James Holzhauer, admitted he wasn’t at his best for JIT.
He was only given three weeks’ notice and was dealing with a back injury.
He noted: “Ken is growing in his own direction, which is really good.
“I also couldn’t keep up with his pace and I just injured my back, which wasn’t ideal.”
Despite these setbacks, he loved being part of JIT, which brought together big names from the game show from the 60-year history of Jeopardy!, won by Victoria Groce.
He recalled the thrill of seeing legends like Arthur Chu and Larissa Kelly in the hotel lobby, calling it a “field of dreams moment.”
JIT, including Sam’s games, will be shown again as part of summer reruns before Jeopardy! returns with season 41 on September 9, 2024.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
