Jeopardy's Tournament of Champions won't take place until WGA strike is resolved
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After several Jeopardy contestants announced that they would not cross the WGA picket line to compete in its Tournament of Champions, the series confirmed that the competition won't take place until the WGA strike has ended.
"Jeopardy! never had any intention of producing a Tournament of Champions for Season 39 until the strike is resolved," a spokesperson confirms in a statement to EW. "Further, no contestants from Season 39 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."
It continues, "Jeopardy! has a long history with and tremendous respect for the WGA and our writers. We have always been careful to honor our WGA agreements and we would never air game material not created by WGA writers. However, just as we did, led by Alex Trebek, during the 2007-2008 strike, we will deliver first-run episodes again this fall to more than 200 affiliate stations nationwide."
For now, Jeopardy's current plan is to "go into a holding pattern of sorts, pushing back the S39 postseason to first produce original episodes featuring the best of our WGA-written material." The spokesperson added, "Everyone at Jeopardy! hopes that the guilds and the AMPTP can reach a fair resolution quickly."
Over the last week, champions Ray Lalonde, Ben Chan, Hannah Wilson, Cris Pannullo, and Troy Meyer all announced that they would not participate in the game show's upcoming tournament unless the ongoing Writers' Guild of America (WGA) strike was resolved.
The winners refused to cross the picket line in solidarity with Jeopardy's writers amid a wave of reports that claimed the series would potentially recycle old questions for this year's competition, per the Hollywood Reporter. The tournament is usually filmed between August and September.
Lalonde, an International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) member who won 13 games this year, posted on Reddit that he would be skipping the competition after discovering "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."
"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," Lalonde wrote. "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."
He continued, "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."
Lalonde said that he hoped his statement would "perhaps influence some future decision to proceed without the writers" and also "encourage any others in the community who feel the same way to speak out as well." He added, "A few small voices may not change any minds but we can try."
The other contestants soon rallied behind Lalonde in the post's comments section, with Meyer writing, "I stand with Ray!"
Pannullo, who won 21 games, commented, "I fully agree with [Ray's] stance and will not participate in any games comprised of recycled clues while the WGA strike is in effect."
In his comment, Chan thanked Lalonde for "taking this stand," adding, "If you are out, I am out." While Wilson noted, "I'll stand with you, Ray! A TOC with all recycled clues doesn't sound like much fun to play in, anyway."
The Writers' Guild of America has been on strike since May after failing to reach an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP). They are seeking higher wages as well as artificial intelligence protections. In solidarity, Jeopardy host Mayim Bialik exited the show's 39th season early, requiring co-host Ken Jennings to fill in for the remaining final week of filming.
While the Tournament of Champions remains up in the air, Celebrity Jeopardy! — which features original questions written by its WGA staff prior to the strike — is set to return to ABC this fall.
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