“Jeopardy!” producers will delay taping of the much-anticipated Tournament of Champions after several former contestants stated they would not participate amid the ongoing Hollywood writers strike.
However, new “Jeopardy!” episodes will be produced in the fall with material penned by Writers Guild of America (WGA) members before the strike began in May.
“Jeopardy! never had any intention of producing a Tournament of Champions for Season 39 until the strike is resolved,” a show spokesperson confirmed to The Post on Wednesday.
The statement continued, “Further, no contestants from Season 39 have been contacted regarding their availability for any postseason tournaments, including the ToC. The Jeopardy! postseason represents the pinnacle of our competition, and it should feature our strongest players playing our toughest original material.”
The statement also emphasized how much “respect” the show’s team has for the WGA.
“Jeopardy! has a long history with and tremendous respect for the WGA and our writers,” the statement read. “We have always been careful to honor our WGA agreements and we would never air game material not created by WGA writers. However, just as we did, led by Alex Trebek, during the 2007-2008 strike, we will deliver first-run episodes again this fall to more than 200 affiliate stations nationwide.”
More information about the upcoming season is expected to be shared next month.
“Everyone at Jeopardy! hopes that the guilds and the AMPTP can reach a fair resolution quickly,” the “Jeopardy!” spokesperson stated, noting that “Celebrity Jeopardy!” will return to ABC this fall, as the material was written by WGA writers before the strike began.
Season 39 contestant Ray Lalonde recently announced on Reddit that he would not be crossing the picket line to participate in the Tournament of Champions.
Many tournament hopefuls followed suit, including Cris Pannullo, Ben Chan and Hannah Wilson.
Even with the tournament being pushed pack, Lalonde told The Post that he still found the response to be “disappointing.”
“Essentially I found this response disappointing because the show continues to want to shoot new shows across the WGA picket line,” the Toronto contender told The Post on Wednesday.
“In some ways the situation is worse now because they are going to start with new contestants who may be faced with giving up their only shot at a lifetime dream to be on the show if they want to respect the writer’s picket.”
He continued, “It’s so much easier for some of us to stand on principle who have already had our successes on that stage. I know the producers are only doing the job that they’re being paid to do but it does feel bad. A public guarantee that any invitees with a moral objection would be asked back after the strike is over wouldn’t be a perfect solution but it would be nicer.”
Lalonde won 13 consecutive games this past season for a total of $386,400.
Writers, meanwhile, are petitioning for higher wages, regulation surrounding artificial intelligence, and better pay from streaming services.
Earlier this month, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (SAG-AFTRA) unanimously voted to stop working after its contract expired, which means more actors and entertainment professionals have joined the picket line.
Writers are an essential part of “Jeopardy!,” as they devise the clues that are read each episode.
The Post reached out to WGA for comment.
