Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? Jeopardy! recently announced its upcoming “Jeopardy Masters” tournament. Now, some fans are worried that the show is sacrificing quality in a desperate bid to recapture that “Tournament of Champions” magic.
On January 11, Deadline broke the news that ABC has ordered yet another new primetime Jeopardy! spin-off show. The show, which has yet to receive a release date, has been christened the Jeopardy Masters event and will bring back six very familiar faces.
It’s being widely reported that the show will feature the “six highest-ranked, current Jeopardy! contestants,” although its unclear what “ranking” this is referring to—it certainly isn’t the show’s Leaderboard of Legends. What we do know is that fan-favorite contestants Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, Mattea Roach, Andrew He, Sam Buttrey, and James Holzhauer will all be returning to the Jeopardy! stage.
Save for Holzhauer, these contestants just competed in the 2022 Tournament of Champions. Given the champions’ swift return to the show, fans are skeptical of this Jeopardy Masters lineup.
Fans Question ‘Jeopardy Masters’ Lineup
No one is disputing that each of these players deserves a spot in a show like this; however, fans have questioned the timing of their return. To many, it looks like the show is playing it safe by bringing back the most recent fan favorites.
“This is not AT ALL saying that the 6 contestants picked don’t deserve it or we won’t immensely enjoy watching them play. But we JUST saw 5 of them play (and 3 of them play each other 6x!),” one fan tweeted.
“The 2022 ToC was incredible and it seems like they are trying to recapture that magic with a remix. There’s a reason why reboots and sequels are so popular! We love the original and want more! But it’s a delicate balance and hope they will go back past S38 for future tourneys.”
The announcement is even more jarring when you realize how many great players the show passed up for the new tournament. Sam Kavanaugh, who won the 2021 Tournament of Champions, even expressed his disappointment at not receiving an invite.
“Well, seeing the news today that I am not invited to the Jeopardy Masters was a bit of a gut punch. Nothing is ever guaranteed so I wasn’t planning on it, but because every other ToC winner in history was invited to a subsequent tourney, I was planning *for* it,” the champion tweeted.
Kavanaugh went on to say that he will definitely be tuning in for the show, but the omission still stings.
The bright side is that, since Jeopardy Masters likely won’t be a one-time deal, we will certainly see a broader group of champions in future iterations. Here’s hoping we see great players like Kavanaugh return to the Jeopardy! stage soon!