Jeopardy! Provides New Tournament And Spin-Off Updates
There are three guarantees in life: death, taxes, and tons of Jeopardy! tournaments.
In the latest episode of the Inside Jeopardy! podcast, Sarah Whitcomb Foss and Michael Davies shared many updates on the show’s upcoming tournaments, as well as information about several spin-offs.
The fourth season of the show’s primetime celebrity edition, now dubbed Celebrity Jeopardy! All-Stars, is set to premiere on February 27. The show’s previous three champions (Ike Barinholtz, Lisa Ann Walter, and W. Kamau Bell) are all set to reappear, alongside other celebrities who competed in earlier seasons. Davies described the final game with phrases like “something else,” and “gasps from the audience.”
The annual Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament is scheduled to air immediately after the conclusion of the ongoing Tournament of Champions. The roster for the upcoming JIT was also announced during the podcast. After failing to reach the finals of Jeopardy! Masters, Isaac Hirsch, Matt Amodio, Adriana Harmeyer, and Roger Craig will be appearing in the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament. Other returning contestants include Andrew He, Drew Goins, Drew Basile, Alison Betts, Josh Hill, and Eric Ahasic.
On the other hand, contestants declining to appear in tournaments has become more common as of late. Brad Rutter and Neilesh Vinjamuri were invited to the JIT as well, but chose not to participate. Mattea Roach, Cris Pannullo, and Julia Collins chose to sit this tournament out too, although Davies and Foss said that all three of them are interested in returning to Jeopardy! in the future.
As far as other spin-offs are concerned, Davies also briefly spoke about Pop Culture Jeopardy!, which is moving from Amazon Prime to Netflix for season 2. Taping was recently completed, and Davies said that “two games in particular were two of the greatest games [he has] ever witnessed.” The exact date the season will be available for streaming is unknown, but it will be sometime later this year.
Davies also stated on the podcast that he’s looking to bring back Sports Jeopardy! on streaming in 2026. The original version of the show premiered on the now-defunct streaming service Crackle, and ran for 116 episodes from 2014 to 2016. The Dan Patrick-hosted show also briefly aired reruns on NBCSN, following their coverage of events like the Summer Olympics and regular season NHL games. As the executive producer of Jeopardy!, Davies has often expressed his love for sports, and he described this revival as his “biggest New Year’s hope.”
Davies also announced one detail about the 2027 Tournament of Champions. Not too long ago, I wrote about game shows making mistakes, and a recent mistake on Jeopardy! may have cost Stella Trout a spot in the Tournament of Champions. During the Champions Wildcard tournament, Trout wagered $11,200 on a true Daily Double, which read, “Within the Department of the Interior, this is the country’s oldest conservation agency.” Trout responded with “What’s the National Park Service?” which was initially ruled incorrect. Host Ken Jennings said, “I’m sorry, no, the Fish and Wildlife Service is older,” which dropped Trout’s score down to $0. She went on to lose the game and the tournament.
Following the game, it was discovered that the clue was ambiguous. The Fish and Wildlife Service has technically existed since 1882, but it’s been reorganized and renamed many times over the years. The National Park Service was created in 1916, but it’s always operated under the same name, and it’s never been reorganized.
After conducting further research, Jeopardy! determined that Trout’s response was more correct than the response the show was looking for. She was the alternate for this year’s Tournament of Champions, but due to this mistake, Jeopardy! has awarded her a guaranteed spot in 2027’s tournament.
