‘Jeopardy!’ Star James Holzhauer Reacts to ‘The Chase’ Ratings Bump

‘Jeopardy!’ Star James Holzhauer Reacts to ‘The Chase’ Ratings Bump

Q&A

ABC

If you can’t get enough of James Holzhauer, you’re in luck as ABC is giving fans a night dedicated to “The High Roller” on August 1. The network will be rebroadcasting the two of Jeopardy! Masters and The Chase in a block of trivia programming on Tuesday nights starting with the “Game Show Villain” sitting front and center.

First viewers can revisit Games 5 and 6 of the Jeopardy! Masters tournament from May 10, which saw the six highest-ranked contenders in the race for the grand prize of $500,000 and the title of first-ever champion. The “Game Show Villain” faced off with the likes of Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, Mattea Roach, Andrew He, and Sam Buttrey. Spoiler: Holzhauer wins in the end, but the intense competition is worth a rewatch.

Then Holzhauer returns to The Chase as the Chaser in a rebroadcast of the June 14 episode. He’ll engage in a battle of wits against a technology trend scout, a product manager, and a forum series producer. The latest run of The Chase ranks among the  Top 10 highest-rated entertainment series this summer with Jeopardy! Masters ranked as ABC’s number 2 entertainment series last season in total viewers. The Chase marked the series’ most-watched multiplatform telecast in two years with 3.5 million.

Here Holzhauer looks back on these shows, as well as The Chase and Jeopardy!’s ratings success.

ABC

Do you think you are the reason ratings did so well?

I think all the Chasers and Jeopardy! Masters are fabulous, but I know I’m a big reason fans continue to tune in to both shows.

What is it like to revisit these Jeopardy! Masters episodes? Any big takeaways?

Masters had something for everyone: dominant wins, plenty of humor and personality from the contestants, emotional highs and lows, and a thrilling finish. I especially enjoyed meeting and spending time with the other Masters, who have all volunteered their time towards a charity fundraiser I’m organizing in Las Vegas on August 5 [called “Titan Throwdown 2”.]

Could you see The Chase going on the road or under a different theme? If so, what would it be?

I think the “beat the expert” formula plays very well in prime time. In Britain and Australia, they have a spinoff called “Beat the Chasers” that flips the script: one contestant plays against three or more Chasers for a potentially huge payday. I’d love to see “Beat the Chasers” USA.

What are your thoughts on doing a Chase “Tournament of Champions” where the ones who won come back as the Chasers seek redemption?

I would rather give another shot to some of our contestants who played well and went for the big money but came up a little short. Either way, I certainly like my chances in any rematch.

ABC

What do you make of Jeopardy!’s enduring success given its strong performance as ABC’s number 2 entertainment series last season in total viewers with 7.3 million total viewers across linear and streaming platforms?

Viewers clearly like Jeopardy! experience and I think Masters takes it to another level with the contestants’ willingness to risk it all on one clue.

It’s so successful we’re getting back-to-back Holzhauer with a rebroadcast of the five and six games, as well as you being the Chaser on The Chase. What do you remember about this episode of The Chase?

This may be the strongest team we’ve ever seen on The Chase: Anu won a Jeopardy! tournament and Liz and Leslie both played in the Tournament of Champions. It’s going to be a good one.

Rebroadcasts of Jeopardy! Masters and The Chase, August 1, 9/8c, ABC