Here’s When ‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Can Expect To See New Contestants

ByAllie Johnson
Courtesy of CBS. Ken Jennings on the set of the Second Chance Tournament on Jeopardy!

Even though the WGA strike may be coming to an end, Jeopardy! fans will have to wait a bit longer to see any new contestants on the show.

After a stressful summer, a tentative agreement has been reached between the WGA and studio executives. Although details of the agreement have yet to be released, there is optimism that the strike will officially come to an end in the next few days. If WGA writers vote to approve the agreement, writers can get back to work very soon. But Jeopardy! will still have one more hurdle to clear before the show can feature any new contestants.

Season 40 of Jeopardy! debuted on September 11 with a three-week Second Chance Tournament. Contestants who came up short of winning in Season 37 have been invited back to the show with their shot at redemption. The Second Chance Tournament features recycled questions from previous episodes as a workaround to the WGA strike. The decision to reuse questions has upset many former Jeopardy! champions, including Amy Schneider.

When Will New Contestants Be Back

The Second Chance Tournament will conclude on September 29 with its last remaining group of contestants.

Even if the WGA strike officially ends this week, Jeopardy! will not resume its regular programming until at least December. Following the Second Chance Tournament, the show will begin an eight-week Champions Wildcard Tournament. The tournament will feature previous winners from Season 37 and Season 38. Unlike in previous tournaments, the Wildcard Tournament will include winners who weren’t five-day winners during their original run. The top 3 winners from the Second Chance Tournament will be competing as well.

The winner of the Wildcard Tournament will earn a spot in the upcoming Tournament of Champions. The air date of the Tournament Of Champions has yet to be revealed. Once the WGA strike is a thing of the past, more details should quickly emerge.

The last regular Jeopardy! episode was the Season 39 finale, which aired back on July 28, 2023. Contestant Lucas Partridge won his third consecutive game, piling up $66,200 in winnings. He has since been stuck in Jeopardy! limbo ever since. According to On-Camera-Audiences, the next taping date for Jeopardy! is scheduled for Wednesday, October 11, which may include the show’s writers and new questions. But for now, regular episodes, new players, and possibly Partridge, will not air until at least February 2024.

Jeopardy! Fans Reactions

With Season 40 exclusively featuring returning players and recycled questions, fans on Reddit are starting to become a bit restless. With time running out, fans are starting to question the show’s direction. “I think the quicker that the show can get on with the S39 postseason and then episodes with new contestants, the better for the show and its viewers,” wrote one user.

Another Reddit user was a bit more blunt with their desire. “I just want to see new shows with new players. Is that even going to happen this season?”

But not all Jeopardy! fans are chomping at the bit for new content. One Reddit user fears that rushing out new episodes would be unfair to contestants of the Second Chance Tournament. “It would be so, so awful of them to offer people a second chance at what they believed to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and then take that away from them,” the user wrote.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming schedule? Should Jeopardy! prioritize new contestants once the WGA strike is over? Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments section.

Allie Johnson
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