Michael Davies: Last News

Jeopardy!’s showrunner, Michael Davies, revealed that the game show will move forward with season 40 by reusing old questions and former contestants amid the ongoing writers’ strike.

Jeopardy! Masters is back for its second annual tournament on ABC beginning May 1.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “Jeopardy! Masters” is back for its second tournament, with hour-long episodes over three weeks starting May 1 on ABC. The “Jeopardy! Masters” event features the six highest-ranked current “Jeopardy!” contestants battling it out in two games per hourlong episode. “Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings also hosts “Jeopardy! Masters.” Contestants on this tournament include “Jeopardy! Masters” 2023 champion James Holzhauer, as well as returning contestants Matt Amodio and Mattea Roach, and newcomers Yogesh Raut and Victoria Groce.

Mayim Bialik was axed as the co-host of “Jeopardy!” because the show needed more “consistency” with current host Ken Jennings, showrunner Michael Davies revealed to reporters.“When I took over the show, we were really forced into that situation from everything that happened before, the guest-hosting period,” Davies said at the annual Television Critics Association Press Tour on Saturday. The NBC game show rotated in hosts following the death of iconic host Alex Trebek in November 2020 at the age of 80 after battling pancreatic cancer.“Mayim was left hosting the primetime versions; I brought in Ken to guest-host once Mayim had her schedule on her Fox sitcom,” Davies said, alluding to Bialik’s Fox series “Call Me Kat,” which premiered in January 2021.“Over the past two-and-a-half seasons, what we’ve heard from a lot of television stations and other interested parties is that they wanted more consistency,” Davies said.

Michael Davies, Jeopardy! EP, is opening up about Mayim Bialik‘s departure from the game show after she announced it in December.

Selome Hailu Though Mayim Bialik was fired from the “Jeopardy!” flagship syndicated series in December, the door is still open to bring her back for other versions, according to executive producer Michael Davies. On a panel about unscripted television during ABC’s presentation at the Television Critics Assn. winter 2024 press tour, Davies said the decision to remove Bialik and keep Ken Jennings as solo host came from a pursuit of “more consistency.” “When I took over the show, we were forced into that situation,” said Davies, referring to the two-host setup.

Selome Hailu ABC has renewed “Jeopardy! Masters” for Season 2 and “Celebrity Family Feud” for Season 10. “Jeopardy! Masters” debuted in May of 2023 with Ken Jennings as host.

Celebrity Family Feud and Jeopardy! Masters have been renewed by ABC.

Ken Jennings will be hosting Jeopardy! as it returns for its 40th season.

Celebrity Jeopardy! has a new host, and it’s a familiar face. ABC confirmed to ET that co-host Ken Jennings will take over hosting duties for the upcoming season of from Mayim Bialik, who hosted the first season of the show.Meanwhile, showrunner Michael Davies shared that Jeopardy! is making some changes for its upcoming 40th season amid the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike.Davies gave an update on the long-running trivia show — hosted by Bialik and Jennings — on an episode of the Inside Jeopardy!podcast, sharing that the show's fall season will re-use questions and bring back past runners-up to compete again.«I believe, principally, that it would not be fair to have new contestants making their first appearance on the Alex Trebek Stage with non-original material,» Davies explained.

Michaela Zee Mayim Bialik will not be hosting Season 2 of “Celebrity Jeopardy!” as she continues to support the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Variety has learned from sources. On Monday, ABC issued a press release with changes to their fall schedule, noting that Ken Jennings will host the new season of “Celebrity Jeopardy!,” which premieres Sept. 27 at 8 p.m.

James Holzhauer is taking aim at Jeopardy! producers after they announced that Season 40 of the show would continue amid the writers strike.

sparked a conversation on social media by suggesting that the show would be far more “accessible” for potential contestants if the cost of travel weren’t so high. “Personally, I think covering travel/lodging would make the show accessible to a wider range of contestants,” Goldstein wrote.

Selome Hailu On Monday’s episode of the “Jeopardy!” podcast “Inside Jeopardy!,” showrunner Michael Davies clarified how the trivia series would proceed with its fall season amid the ongoing WGA strike and announced a sweetening of the pot for second and third-place winners. “I believe, principally, that it would not be fair to have new contestants making their first appearance on the Alex Trebek Stage with non-original material,” Davies said.

There are some big changes coming to Jeopardy!

Jeopardy! is undergoing a big change for its Season 40 as a result of the writers strike.

Jeopardy! could actually be in jeopardy.

It’s the end of an era.  After beloved "Wheel of Fortune" host Pat Sajak announced his final spin after 42 years, "Jeopardy!" honored the game show icon. "40 seasons is quite a run, Pat Sajak! We’ll be cheering you on from next door in your 41st and final season as host of @wheeloffortune," "Jeopardy!" shared on its official Instagram page.  A series of photos of "Jeopardy!" co-hosts Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings were posted with the caption from the time they participated in a special episode of "Wheel of Fortune." The executive producer of "Jeopardy!" chimed in the comments section to honor the legendary game show host.

Inside Jeopardy! podcast, executive producer Michael Davies divulged that Roach — who uses they/them pronouns — has “never” studied for the trivia series.The 24-year-old had lost to fellow victor James Holzhauer during the “Jeopardy! Masters” tournament on May 24, placing second.Roach’s mom Patti had been in the audience during the broadcast and Davies recalled what she said at the time.“[Patti] told me that Mattea spends zero time, and has spent zero time ever practicing for this show,” the EP explained.“They don’t learn trivia, they don’t read trivia books, they don’t sit on the floor in the children’s book department like James,” he said, referencing that Holzhauer used to read kids books to study.“Everything they know is from reading, sitting in front of the TV, reading newspapers and being in front of intelligent people,” Davies revealed.He then noted how Roach’s parents “were so involved in that, and get so much credit in their broad liberal arts education.”“It just shows their potential,” he said.

Alex Trebek was the beloved face of "Jeopardy!" for decades, and he left some big shoes to fill after his death from pancreatic cancer. Once "Jeopardy!" tapped former champion Ken Jennings as host, they also added "The Big Bang Theory" star Mayim Bialik after she was a guest host for Season 37.  Since the two began, they've been receiving backlash from fans of the game show, who have been very outspoken on social media. So much so that the show’s executive producer Michael Davies has weighed in on the criticism.  "This show is so hard to host," Davies said during an interview with Vulture.

ABC has renewed Celebrity Jeopardy! for a second season and Celebrity Wheel of Fortune for a fourth season.