According to one former “Jeopardy!” winner, the show is looking to continue even if the current Writers Guild of America strike does.
Past champions Ben Chan, Cris Pannullo, Hannah Wilson, Troy Meyer, and Ray Lalonde were slated to appear in this fall’s upcoming “Tournament of Champions,” but have said they will not if the writers' strike also goes that long.
In a post to Reddit, Lalonde claimed the program was “making contingency plans to start filming the next season of the show with old and/or recycled material if the WGA strike remains unsolved.”
“Jeopardy!” would be without new material as its writers belong to the WGA, hence the need to use old material.
"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,” he continued.
Lalonde wrote he would “not cross a picket line to play in the tournament of champions.”
Chris Pannullo joined the thread’s comment section, “though like all of us I am a huge ‘Jeopardy’ fan and it was a dream to appear on the show, I fully agree with his stance and will not participate in any games compromised of recycled clues while the WGA strike is in effect.”
The others slated to appear on the upcoming “Tournament of Champions” echoed the sentiments.
The WGA went on strike at the beginning of May looking to negotiate new contracts for such things as higher wages and streaming residuals, as well as AI regulations.
“Jeopardy!” host Mayim Bialik also walked off set in support of the strike and has said she’d be stepping away from her hosting duties.