With the passing of longtime Jeopardy! fixture Alex Trebek in 2020, producers have understandably had to make some changes to the quiz show in the years since. The changes include installing one-time contestant Ken Jennings as the permanent host for the program's 40th season and introducing recent game additions like the new-to-Season-40 Champions Wildcard. And I'm just not sure how I feel about what's changing next.
On the most recent episode of the after-show podcast Inside Jeopardy!, producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss said that fans can expect even more changes to the show beginning December 19, including a new logo and flashy new opening title sequence:
Spoiler alert: We’ve got a new logo and a new open for the show headed your way. … So we took it in a different direction. We’ve been featuring the 19 boxes. I call them the 19 boxes because every season, I was one of the ones who had to come up with what 19 things we were going to feature in those boxes that rotate on. So our team looked at it from a different perspective, and we decided to give you a little behind-the-scenes… a little of what goes into the making of Jeopardy! in those seconds leading up to the show.
Those aforementioned "19 boxes" refer to the current title sequence, which also features images like world landmarks and past contestants set against the backdrop of a rotating globe. The new version of the boxes will now include footage of behind-the-scenes moments, such as the writing staff who works on the show. Considering that the former system is arguably iconic to the show, I'm not necessarily sold just yet.
Foss' podcast co-host Buzzy Cohen said the new feel of the opener was "a Saturday Night Live vibe" mixed with a little "The Muppet Show". He explained:
It’s kind of got a Saturday Night Live vibe as they show you the cue card guys as they go to commercial break. We’re all getting ready. It’s The Muppet Show, basically. It’s time to put on make-up. It’s time to light the lights.
Foss confirmed that the new opening sequence will debut alongside the Season 39 edition of the Second Chance Tournament on December 19. The Second Chance Tournament features previous Jeopardy! competitors "who we believe deserve a second shot" at tackling the clue board and winning big, executive producer Michael Davies wrote in a statement posted to the official Jeopardy! website.
I started thinking about a Second Chance Tournament almost the day I started on Jeopardy, when Jessica Stephens beat Matt Amodio, but lost to Jonathan Fisher by just $401. I thought, 'Wow, wouldn't it be a cool idea to have a tournament where we bring excellent contestants like Jessica back?' Like most good ideas, it was quickly apparent that many, many other people—both inside and outside the show—had had exactly the same thought, long before me. But now we're actually going to do it.
Following the culmination of the lengthy 2023 WGA writers strike, the Season 39 Second Chance Tournament will also mark the return of brand-new material, including game clues and questions, said Foss:
Our writers have been back for weeks, contributing to some Champions Wildcard games. But this Second Chance Season 39 material is all new and curated by our writers. It feels really good.
The two champions from the upcoming Second Chance tournament will advance to the Champions Wildcard round. Those victors will then move on to the much-anticipated Tournament of Champions.
The Second Chance Tournament will be hosted by Ken Jennings. There's no official word yet if and when Mayim Bialik, who has shared hosting duties with Jennings following the passing of Trebek, will return to the venerable game show.
For his part, Jennings has been behind the lectern for the most recent episodes of the show, and recently was involved in a humorous snafu when he had to rerecord his ruling after a contestant's funny misspelling during a Final Jeopardy guess.
Despite all of the changes and expansions that the nearly sixty-year-old program has faced lately, as long as we have smart competitors beginning an answer with "What is...?" on our 2023 TV schedules, we're happy!
