JEOPARDY! fans are riled up over a calendar hiccup during an already messy chapter for the game show.
The now-airing Second Chance contest sees its two-part finals air on a Friday and the subsequent Monday instead of back-to-back.
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In late December, the Second Chance competition, designed as a redemption round for non-winners from Season 39, kicked off.
This four-week showdown, stretching until mid-January, will see four winners emerge.
Each claims $35,000 and a coveted spot in a Season 39 Champions Wildcard Competition.
This following competition holds two golden tickets to February’s Tournament of Champions.
After months of recycled faces and questions due to the resolved WGA strike, Season 39’s postponed tournaments are finally in full swing.
Yet, some fans aren’t just expressing tournament fatigue; they’re outright griping that an already complicated season has morphed into an even trickier puzzle.
Last Monday, standout sensation Juveria Zaheer won group one with an outstanding performance.
However, many fans missed witnessing her seal the deal and progress to the next round as her winning match aired on Christmas Day.
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Now, the second group’s fate rests with Xanni Brown, Greg Czaja, and Christopher Pennant.
Again, part two, also known as the deciding match, is set to air on a major holiday- this time New Year’s Day.
FANS SLAM FRIDAY-MONDAY FINALS
A Reddit user launched a thread slamming the fluke of having each tournament week air from Tuesday to the following Monday.
They labeled it “annoying” and pointed out the exasperation of having the finals on a Friday, followed by an agonizing three-day wait for the second game.
According to them, this never happened during the Alex Trebek era.
They wrote: “Anyone here besides me finds it annoying that the ‘two-game total-point affairs’ for S39 Second Chance are on a Friday-Monday cadence?
“Having game 1 of a ‘2-game final’ on a Friday then having to wait 3 days for the second game is so annoying!
“This NEVER happened during the Trebek era! When Alex was hosting, the 2-game total point affairs were always Thursday-Friday.”
Other fans agreed: “Also annoying because Monday games keep getting pre-empted for Monday Night Football.”
A third wrote: “Having the finals respectively on Christmas and then New Year’s Day was certainly unfortunate.”
A fourth defended: “I know this year is all messed up because of the writer’s strike.”
A fifth also defended: “I found it odd at first, but I’m enjoying it. Gives me something to look forward to Monday.”
“YES SO ANNOYING!!!!” blasted a sixth.
FRUSTRATING CHANGES
Major changes to the Season 40 schedule, resulting from the WGA strikes, include postponing the annual $250,000 ToC until February.
Regular episodes are also not set to return until April, a huge shakeup from past years.
Instead, second chances and wildcards have ensued with an unprecedented four tournaments to populate this year’s TOC.
In addition, Jeopardy! has faced other schedule challenges this season that have made it harder to follow.
ABC unexpectedly moved Celebrity Jeopardy! from Wednesday nights to Tuesdays starting in the New Year.
INTEGRITY IN JEOPARDY?
New executive producer Michael Davies (formerly executive producer of Millionaire), took over from the disgraced Mike Richards in 2021.
He has not been shy in tweaking tradition, aside from all of these Second Chances and Wildcards this season.
Davies also floated enacting a cash bonus to regular games, which faced severe backlash, never making it to air.
Other changes, like forcing contestants to say the entire names of categories each time they select a clue, have been enacted, infuriating fans.
Some people fear the show’s integrity might be compromised for ratings and buzz.
One X user wrote this week: “Jeopardy would me more watchable if maybe……… THEY START A NEW SEASON! Instead of 8 straight months of a second chance, a third chance, champion of champions BS.”
Another argued: “The strike is over. They could have regular Jeopardy. Davies chose not to. No one forced him to do tournaments.”
Jeopardy! airs weeknights at 7 pm ET – check your local listings.
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