The COVID-19 pandemic has created an interesting relationship between television and its audience, as social distancing guidelines have given people more free time and more time inside. For some, part of that new (or existing) TV diet is tuning in for Jeopardy!, which could get complicated depending on how the next few months shake out. The iconic game show has a pattern for taping episodes months in advance, which has allowed them to air new content even while having production shut down since March 16th. But as some have begun to speculate, there’s a chance that the series could ultimately run out of new episodes sooner than later. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that Jeopardy! will still be able to air its upcoming Teachers Tournament (which was filmed pre-pandemic) in late May/early June.
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The show previously confirmed on social media that the Teachers Tournament would be among “more new episodes” to air, although it’s unclear what that entails. There’s no indication of exactly how episodes of the Teachers Tournament were taped pre-pandemic, and whether or not any additional regular episodes were filmed beyond that. (The series reportedly filmed without a live audience in the days leading to their shutdown.) Still, it seems like Jeopardy! fans can safely expect new episodes to air at least into June.
In the meantime, Jeopardy! will be getting creative during these unprecedented circumstances, by re-running the Greatest of All Time tournament that first aired earlier this year. The event will be bookended by reruns of Ken Jennings’ first and last episodes, from his record-breaking 74-game winning streak in 2004.
The Greatest of All Time pitted Jennings against Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer, two of the most noteworthy players to hit the show in its history. Rutter first made his appearance on the show in 2000, and soon won the 2001 Tournament of Champions and the 2002 Million Dollar Masters Tournament. Holzhauer gained media attention from his 2018 run in the show, during which he set multiple records for single-day winnings on the show. He initially had a winning streak of 33 appearances and also won the Tournament of Champions that same year.
What do you think of Jeopardy!‘s schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!