Michael Davies, who served as executive producer of “Jeopardy!” for over a year, suggested ways to expand the game show’s franchise at a fragile transition, but “Celebrity Jeopardy!” not one of them.
The order for that spin-off, which premieres Sunday with Mayim Bialik as host, is high.
This past spring, an ABC executive noticed fans on Twitter contemplating how well reviving a celebrity version of the show would work, Davies said in a statement. a recent interview. When Sony, the company that produced the show, told Davies they had signed on, he was shocked: The production team would only have the summer to work on the new show together, besides attaching a season new of “Jeopardy!”
“It wasn’t in my plans,” Davies said. “I don’t often lose words, but I have lost words.”
That is not a new idea. “Risk!” first introduced celebrities as contestants in 1992 for one week at a time. (Original competitors included Carol Burnett, Rosie O’Donnell, and Cheech Marin.) “Saturday Night Live” had a recurring sketch to mock it, featuring Alex Trebek (played by Will Ferrell). roles) is trying to get the reaction of ignorant stars. (Category consists of “first grade math” and “the letter after ‘B.'”)
The actual game asked celebrities continuously until 2016, to donate their winnings to charity of the winner’s choice. But new version will be more ambitious: an hour-long show aired on Sunday prime time.
Despite the turmoil of the past few years – including the death of the show’s longtime host, Trebek, and a tumultuous succession in which the official alternate presenter has left cloud of scandal – the ratings of the show are mostly stable. In 2020, Trebek’s last year as host, the episodes of “Jeopardy!” has an average of 9.4 million viewers in the United States, according to data provided by Nielsen. The following year, that number dropped slightly, to 9.3 million viewers, and viewership has remained the same so far this year.
Through the leadership transition, the show mostly kept its fans’ support as a host of contestants, including Amy Schneider and Matt Amodio, increased viewer excitement.
The numbers encouraged Davies, a veteran game-show producer, and his team to go ahead with a plan to expand on what they call the “Jeopardy!” verse.
“It felt like with Michael Davies, we had someone looking to explore how the brand could expand,” said Chris Stratton, a fan and moderator of a Reddit page devoted to discussing the program, said in an interview.
“Risk!” made other changes. It began filming a Second Chance Tournament, a series of events that invited back promising contestants, as well as re-equip Tournament of Champions. The show has also begun publishing in-depth stats, starting a podcast to parse “Jeopardy!” news, created a fame hall to honor notable figures associated with the show, and featured edited highlights for each episode (a supplement intended to serve the close population) .
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And then there are the ideas that are still buzzing around: a side game for sports and pop culture quizzes, a league for librarians, and a masters tournament featuring players. program’s most successful. Davies, ah football commentator people often compare “Jeopardy!” to a sport, the dream is to broadcast live episodes of the new league. (“That worries a lot of my employees,” Davies admits.)
The producer and his team have been closely monitoring the online reaction from “Jeopardy!” fans, who are known to notice changes to the game show’s structure and who frequently discuss, sometimes critically, the minutiae of each announcement. .
“The heart and soul of ‘Jeopardy!’ being a smart person in their normal life can take a few days off work, fly to Culver City and come back a few thousand dollars richer for it,” said Tyler Rhode, a “Jeopardy! “said. fans and contestants are competing in this season’s League of Champions.
But so far, Davies seems to have plenty of fandom support, in no small part due to his commitment to listening to their feedback on Twitter, Reddit, and other online channels.
For example, fans have long rallied around the idea of a Second Chance Tournament. And in July, when Davies announced that Bialik and Ken Jennings will split the storage dutieshe assured viewers that the show wouldn’t constantly replace hosts, writing: “We know you value consistency.”
“I don’t think there’s ever been a game show that really listened to its fans in a ‘Jeopardy!’ way! currently doing,” said Cory Anotado, a game show journalist who was a contestant on the show.
Davies, who developed the original American version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” which premiered in 1999, was brought in last year during a meltdown. Mike Richards, the show’s executive producer, was named Trebek’s successor, but that plan fell through. after the revelations that Richards made derogatory remarks on a podcast. The leadership of Davies, as well as Bialik and Jennings as a host duo, were temporary measures that eventually became permanent.
Just as fan outcry contributed to Richards’ departure from the show, fan enthusiasm has fueled public interest in the new generation of “Celebrity Jeopardy!”
For this iteration, the producers choose contestants who are known to be fans of the show or have some quiz prowess. This season, those contestants include: Michael Cera, BJ Novak, Patton Oswalt, Ray Romano, Iliza Shlesinger, Aisha Tyler and Constance Wu. (The first episode featured actors Simu Liu, Andy Richter, and Ego Nwodim, who happened to be a “SNL” comedian.)
The appeal, Davies said, should lie in the fact that comedians bring a chaotic informal space to a formal game-show structure, as well as put celebrities in an awkward position of having to test their knowledge. their knowledge in the public environment.
“I have completely turned brown; It was so intense that I can’t remember a single thing about it,” recalls Bellamy Young, an actress who won a hit episode of the show in 2015.
To extend the game into an hour-long episode, the producer added Triple Jeopardy – the first for the American version of the show – where clues start at $300 and go up to $1,500. Documentation will be easier to start than in a regular game, in which contestants take a quiz to qualify. (However, it is unlikely to sink to the level of “SNL” sketches, where one clues read: “This is what becomes toast.”)
One thing on Davies’ wish list? A new spin-off will bring the former champions back.
In the most recent season, four new champions were added to the show’s all-time leaderboard, including Schneider, who won 40 straight, making her the contestant with the most wins. second-highest in a row and Amodio, who follows closely behind with 38 wins.
For Davies, players like Schneider and Amodio are like professional athletes competing among amateurs, and so it makes sense for him to showcase their talents in a private league or league. separate.
“What we really needed to develop was the pro level version of the game,” said Davies. “For me, it’s ridiculous that we have this sport where every year we bring in all of our best players – we take our LeBrons and Dwyanes – and we get rid of them all. chief.”
