Jeopardy! Officially Delays This Fall’s Tournament of Champions Amid Writers’ Strike

Michael Ausiello

Jeopardy! is officially delaying its Tournament of Champions amid the ongoing writers’ strike, but the regular show will go on.

With several of Season 39’s biggest champions announcing that they will not participate in this fall’s annual ToC until the WGA strike is resolved, a Sony Pictures Television rep released a statement late Tuesday declaring that it “never had any intention of producing a Tournament of Champions… until the strike is resolved,” adding that “no contestants have been contacted regarding their availability for any postseason tournaments, including the ToC. The Jeopardy! postseason represents the pinnacle of our competition, and it should feature our strongest players playing our toughest original material.”

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The spokesperson went on to confirm reports that Season 40 will nonetheless forge ahead with new episodes featuring recycled questions. “We have always been careful to honor our WGA agreements and we would never air game material not created by WGA writers,” the rep said. “However, just as we did, led by Alex Trebek, during the 2007-2008 strike, we will deliver first-run episodes again this fall… featuring the best of our WGA written material.”

It remains unclear which of the show’s hosts will emcee Season 40’s strike-proof installments. Conventional wisdom suggests Ken Jennings will continue to preside over the show solo given Mayim Bialik’s previously stated refusal to cross the picket line.

Jeopardy!‘s milestone 40th season is set to premiere on Monday, Sept. 11.

Meanwhile, Sony confirms that Celebrity Jeopardy! will return on ABC this fall “with original material written by WGA writers before the strike.”

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