What is uh oh? As Hollywood continues to be impacted by the ongoing strikes from both writers and actors as they seek a new labor agreement with studios, fan-favorite game show Jeopardy! may not be immune from it all. In fact, there is a chance that the strikes could result in the upcoming Jeopardy! season 40 not having certain contestants, the Jeopardy! hosts or, in a possible worst case scenario, not air at all.
One of the biggest sources of this speculation comes from Jeopardy! season 39 champion Ray Lalonde. Lalonde won 13 games during Jeopardy! season 39, which automatically qualified him for the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, which usually takes place in the fall of the following season.
However, on Friday, July 21, Lalonde took to Reddit to share his stance on a potential decision Jeopardy! producers could make to continue to produce new episodes around the strike (the writers for Jeopardy!'s questions are WGA members).
"There are now credible reports that the producers are making contingency plans to start filming the next season of the show with old and/or recycled material if the WGA strike remains unresolved," wrote Lalonde.
"I am a lifelong devoted fan of Jeopardy! I am and will always be grateful for the experience I had on the show and the opportunity to participate in the TOC is beyond a dream come true for me. That being said, I believe that the show's writers are a vital part of the show and they are justified in taking their job action to secure a fair contract for themselves and their fellow WGA members. As a supporter of the trade union movement, a union member's son and a proud union member myself I have informed the show's producers that if the strike remains unresolved I will not cross a picket line to play in the tournament of champions."
Other Jeopardy! season 39 champs that are eligible to participate in the Tournament of Champions have come out in support of Lalonde's stance, including Chris Pannullo, Ben Chan, Hannah Wilson and Troy Meyer.
Lalonde's post did not provide a link to any specific report about the use of recycled questions. What to Watch has reached out to ABC for comment.
But this is not the only issue facing Jeopardy! season 40. One half of the Jeopardy! host team, Mayim Bialik, did not host the game show after the writers strike began and TV Insider reports that Ken Jennings is also facing pressure not to step behind the lectern.
Reality shows and game shows are expected to be key fillers for networks amid the strikes, as many scripted shows have been moved out of the 2023 fall TV schedule, including popular hits like The Good Doctor and Grey's Anatomy on ABC, and Chicago P.D. and Law & Order: SVU on NBC.
Movies are also starting to be impacted by the actors strike, as Zendaya's Challengers and A24's Problemista recently announced they were moving off their planned release dates.
Jeopardy! season 39 ends on July 28 and season 40 is not expected to begin until September 11, with reruns expected to fill the game show's daily time slot in the meantime. On a side note, Jeopardy! Masters reruns are going to start airing on ABC's primetime lineup starting July 25.
