Jeopardy’s Tournament of Champions will be airing later than planned.
Producer Sony Pictures Television postponed the competition series after news broke that former winners said they would not participate if the show went with “recycled material” for questions.
According to THR, the production company claims it had no intention of shooting the primetime iteration until after the strike is resolved.
“Jeopardy! never had any intention of producing a Tournament of Champions for season 39 until the strike is resolved,” a spokesperson for the show said in a statement to the outlet.
“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.”
“Jeopardy! has a long history with and tremendous respect for the WGA and our writers,” the statement continues.
“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.”
“Our current plan is to go into a holding pattern of sorts, pushing back the season 39 postseason to first produce original episodes featuring the best of our WGA written material.”
“Everyone at Jeopardy! hopes that the guilds and the AMPTP can reach a fair resolution quickly.”
“Celebrity Jeopardy! will return on ABC this fall with original material written by WGA writers before the strike. Jeopardy! and Celebrity Jeopardy! are covered under the SAG-AFTRA Network Code, which remains in effect.”
Jeopardy! continues to be a massive success in both syndication and primetime. There have been questions about how the series would navigate both the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.
“I am and will always be grateful for the experience I had on the show and the opportunity to participate in the TOC is beyond a dream come true for me,” Ray Lalonde, who won 13 games last season, wrote on Reddit.
“That being said, I believe that the show’s writers are a vital part of the show and they are justified in taking their job action to secure a fair contract for themselves and their fellow WGA members.”
“As a supporter of the trade union movement, a union member’s son and a proud union member myself I have informed the show’s producers that if the strike remains unresolved I will not cross a picket line to play in the tournament of champions.”
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
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