CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA: The end of its current season is closing in on 'Jeopardy!' and it could be the last time we might see a new episode of the game show in a long time. While there were previous reports of the show making a return after a scheduled break for the summer, it seems like the upcoming seasons are further delayed according to the recent updates.
The upcoming regular season and other tournaments organized by 'Jeopardy!' are reportedly not going to follow the schedule that was revealed in the past weeks. The WGA strike stands as the reason behind the delay which had also made co-host Mayim Bialik temporarily step down from her position in the middle of the regular season that she was hosting.
No new episodes of 'Jeopardy!'
TV Line, a website that reports updates on TV shows and their future plans, put out a report on the current situation of 'Jeopardy!'. The report suggests that the chances of delay in the production and airing of the new episodes of the game show are "increasingly likely."
They also discussed how the schedule is ideally supposed to proceed, writing, "Production on Season 40 is set to get underway in mid-August, with the annual TOC (Tournament of Champions) typically among the first episodes to be shot." TV Line states that the reason behind this would be that several candidates from the 'Tournament of Champions' refused to cross the picket line to appear for the game show. The report also wrote that the previous strategy of reworking clues from the existing archive might not end up as the solution for the tournament.
Regular season might not be enough
TV Line further revealed that in addition to TOC, 'Jeopardy!' might not be able to green light even the new regular season of the game show. The show producers, Sony Pictures Television, can still rely on the clue-recycling strategy to make it through the regular run as it is possible to gather enough contestants for all the episodes. But hosting is where they could end up stumbling.
Bialik had already announced that she won't rejoin the Alex Trebek stage until the WGA strike is resolved and the writers' demands are heard and realized. While current host Ken Jennings decided to save the current season by offering his hosting skills, he is also being subjected to much pressure to join the picket line, both from fans and as a personality in Hollywood. TV Line wrote that the regular season might see more delays because of the lack of a host itself.
