Jeopardy! fans vow to boycott show over ‘disappointing’ summer schedule as viewers notice change to tradition

JEOPARDY! fans have vowed to boycott the series over a ‘disappointing’ change to the summer schedule ahead of the new season.

Jeopardy! fans are eagerly waiting for the premiere of season 42 in September after the show wrapped up last week.

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Jeopardy! released its summer rerun scheduleCredit: Getty

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Tournament of Champions will air during the rerunsCredit: Jeopardy!

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Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament will also air in the summerCredit: Getty
To hold viewers over, fans have been looking forward to the summer rerun schedule.

But viewers aren’t thrilled by the episodes chosen, as they include the 2025 Tournament of Champions weeks one to three and Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament weeks one to three.

One viewer fired over social media, “What’s with all the tournaments?”

A second wrote referring to late host Alex Trebek, “What I would like to see is some reruns from years past with Alex!”

A third commented, “How about some old Art Fleming re-runs from 1964- 1975. Interesting would be if available.”

A fourth wrote, “I think I’ll just wait until the season starts…”

A fifth said, “I have seen every single regular episode and all types of tournament episodes; I’m just going to wait for the next season to start.”

The game show made a break from tradition, as for the first time in years the schedule includes the Season 41 finale to air on September 5, giving fans a refresher of the finale episode.

One fan wrote, “Do they usually show the final episode of the previous season before the new season starts? I don’t remember that happening in the past. It’s a good idea.”

A second said, “This is probably a special case. The season ended with a bang.”

Jeopardy! champ Scott Riccardi scores highest game winnings in two years after risky final wager results in big pay off

EXCITING FINALE

Fans are referring to Scott Riccardi’s 16-day winning streak coming to an end in a shocking upset on the season 41 finale.

The trivia wiz accumulated nearly $500k over his impressive run.

Scott was looking to continue his successful streak on the finale – which has landed him in the Jeopardy! record books.

Winning 16 games is the most consecutive games won by a contestant since 2022.

It also ties for 10th place in overall longest winning streaks ever in Jeopardy! history, alongside Ryan Long, who played in 2022.

Of course, the player who holds the title for most consecutive games won is host Ken Jennings, who went on an unbeatable 74-game streak back in 2004.

OUT WITH A BANG

On Friday’s season 41 finale, Scott, went up against Jonathan Hugendubler, an adjunct professor and trivia host from Baltimore, Maryland, and Charlotte Cooper, a graphic designer from San Francisco, California.

Scott was off to a quick lead early on in the game.

By the time the trio of players entered the Double Jeopardy! round, Scott secured a good lead with $10,800.

Charlotte was in a distant second with $3,000 while Jonathan stayed in third place with just $800.

Jonathan began to gain momentum when he added $2,000 to his score when correctly guessing the second Daily Double under the “Stately Bodies of Water” category.

He continued that success by finding the third Daily Double – which ultimately drastically changed the course of the game.

The newcomer correctly guessed the clue under the “They’re All Greeks to Me” category – doubling his score to $8,800.

However, he was still behind Scott, but only slightly, as the New Jersey engineer was at $10,800 at that point in the game.

Going into Final Jeopardy!, Scott was able to maintain his lead with $23,600.

Jeopardy! Set Secrets

Jeopardy! fans don’t see everything behind the scenes from watching on TV. These hidden set features make the show run smoothly:

Each podium has a hidden riser so that all contestants appear to be the same height.
After each clue is read, signal lights go off around the game board, indicating players can buzz in and respond.
Buzz in too early, and you’re locked out for .25 seconds.
The podiums have a small white light in the lower left corner, which tells Ken Jennings who goes next.
Contrary to popular belief, the player with control doesn’t have a buzzer advantage on the next clue.
To the game board’s left is a scoreboard so the players can see their opponents’ scores.
All contestants must bring three outfits to the studio, but only the host and returning champion change for the next episode.
There are wardrobe rules, including restrictions on busy patterns, solid white, purple (like the background), and logos.
Five episodes are taped in a single day, and sometimes more.
The categories, players (aside from the returning champion), and Final Jeopardy! for a tape day are all drawn randomly to ensure fairness.
Female contestants are asked not to wear makeup, which is applied backstage, and don’t wear mascara because of sweat.
Contestants fill out a questionnaire, and producers select five Q&A topics for the host.
Host Ken isn’t allowed to interact with the contestants until after the game.
Players can request to sit in a chair while competing without question.

RISKY BUSINESS

While Jonathan made up for a lot, he was still in second with $14,000, while Charlotte stayed in second with $7,800.

Host Ken, 51, then introduced the final category as 20th Century Names and read the clue, “According to one obituary, in 1935 he owned 13 magazines, 8 radio stations, 2 movie companies, and $56 million in real estate.”

Both Jonathan and Charlotte were correct in answering “Who was Hearst?” – giving Charlotte $15,600 to end the game in third place.

The correct answer boosted Jonathan up to $23,601 – leaving the fate of the game up to Scott’s wager on his wrong response.

Unfortunately for Scott, he wagered too much and dropped down to second with $18,600.

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Jeopardy! is airing episodes with champion Scott Riccardi, a break from traditionCredit: Jeopardy!

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Fans wanted to see episodes featuring Alex TrebekCredit: Getty