‘Jeopardy!’ Is Running Out of Original Episodes Due to the Pandemic – The Final One Is Coming Up Soon
Jeopardy!, along with other television and film projects, decided to stop filming new episodes of the game show when the coronavirus (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic.
Here’s what we know about when the final original episode will air and when filming will resume on one of the greatest game shows of all time.
‘Jeopardy!’ halted filming due to coronavirus
Once it was clear the the growing COVID-19 concern was a legitimate – and growing – one, Jeopardy! stopped filming new episodes. With schools switching to online learning, the sports world stopping play, and only essential workers being asked to report to work with all others urged to stay home and practice social distancing, it was clear to producers that, for the safety of all concerned, filming must stop.
The show posted on their Instagram account, “With the increasing concern surrounding COVID-19, we have decided to temporarily suspend production on Jeopardy! and @WheelofFortune. The health and well-being of our contestants, staff, and crew are our top priority, and we will continue to monitor the situation as it develops.”
Their concern is not unfounded, for all staff members of the show, but particularly for host Alex Trebek, who just hit his first year’s clean bill of health from pancreatic cancer.
“The one year survival rate for stage four pancreatic cancer patients is 18 percent,” Trebek said in a video posted on the Jeopardy! website in March 2020. “I’m very happy to report that I have just reached that marker.”
The Teachers Tournament just wrapped up
Taped in early February 2020, the Teachers Tournament just crowned on June 5, 2020, vocal teacher Ben Henri of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, who took home the $100,000 grand prize.
Henri went on to win against fellow teachers Meggie Kwait who came in second place winning the $50,000 prize, and Will Satterwhite, rounding out the group with a $25,000 win.
“My family, friends, and students have given me so much, and I kept thinking, ‘What on earth did I do to be in this moment? I can’t possibly deserve this,’ ” Henri said in a news release. “Combined with the post-adrenaline comedown, it made it difficult to get through a sentence without losing my composure.”
When will new episodes of ‘Jeopardy!’ air?
Now that the Teachers Tournament has reached its conclusion, Jeopardy! will start airing what’s left of their new episodes.
The program’s final original episode will air on Friday, June 12, 2020. After that, the show will start airing older episodes on Monday, June 15 until producers and the industry at large decide it is safe to resume filming.
Fans of Jeopardy! tweeted their concern about the show running out of new games.
“In other words, ‘Jeopardy’ is truly in jeopardy,” said one tweet.
Another asked, “What is a catastrophe?”
One fan joked, “I will take old tv shows for $600 pls.”
