'Jeopardy!' Executive Producer Says Show May Discontinue New Change
Jeopardy! executive producer Michael Davies is speaking out on the show's recent changes. When fans of the long-running game show tuned in to the special Jeopardy! Masters tournament, which began on May 8, some major changes were made to the competition, including the introduction of a soccer-style points-based format for a win as well as allowing viewers to see where the Daily Doubles were hidden on the board. According to Davies, however, at least some of the format changes may soon be discontinued.
Davies addressed the future of the format changes while appearing on the most recent episode of the Inside Jeopardy! podcast. Although Davies said Masters "was every bit as good as I hoped it was going to be," he acknowledged, "I think we can make it better in the future." It seems making the competition better will involve getting rid of the Daily Double reveals, with Davies sharing that "almost everybody's asking me about the reveal of the Daily Double."
"That is almost the minor detail that was done as a format gift to ABC. I'm sort of on the fence about it; it feels to me like a bit of a stage weight, to be honest, and it was my idea, but we don't really need it," Davies said, suggesting that the reveals could instead maybe be better used as "part of a companion app. And I think that we need to really look at the shot sequence of the selection of categories and how the clue then goes full screen, and we either need to get the category on the full-screen clue or we need to change the shot sequence so it's very clear from which the clue is coming."
The format change involving the reveal of the Daily Doubles was first announced by host Ken Jennings in early May. At the time, Jennings explained that the hope was that this would add a little bit more suspense for viewers, Jennings stating, "We noticed it's very fun in the studio that we know where the Daily Doubles are because we can see the contestants get close. Sometimes they veer away at the wrong time. It's a little bit like a big game of Battleship." The change was ultimately met with a lackluster response from viewers, some of whom thought it was "fun to try." Others, however, thought it was pointless and didn't "add anything to the game."
The change was only in effect during the Jeopardy! Masters tournament. However, Jennings did indicate that it could possibly be implemented on the regular syndicated version, the host sharing, "I really like it because the host always knows where the Daily Doubles are in advance, so I get to watch a contestant who really needs the Daily Double kind of advance towards it, 'Oh, is she gonna get it? Oh no, she's switched categories.' With Davies' most recent comments, though, it seems unlikely that the format change will make its way to the regular syndicated version.