‘Jeopardy!’ Champ James Holzhauer Side-Eyes Show’s Response to WGA Strike

James Holzhauer, the “Jeopardy!” champ best known for his 32-week winning streak, has called out the game show’s response to the ongoing WGA strike, which has impacted show’s writers since early May.

On his X account, Holzhauer shared the latest episode of the game show’s accompanying podcast “Inside Jeopardy!”

“If you don’t have time to listen, here’s the executive summary of today’s announcement,” Holzhauer wrote on Monday. “1:00-2:00: Jeopardy’s writers are invaluable and we couldn’t produce the show without them 2:00-15:00: Here is how we will produce the upcoming season without them.”

In July, several “Jeopardy!” winners boycotted the Tournament of Champions both out of solidarity with the strike and concerns that questions would be recycled.

Though Holzhauer’s post may read like a tongue-in-cheek joke, it’s not too far from the truth of of “Inside Jeopardy’s” “Who Is Mattea Roach?” episode. After a brief introduction, the podcast’s host as well as executive producer of “Jeopardy!” Michael Davies addresses the game show’s loss of its writers.

“There is something I have to say right at the outset and that is how much I admire and miss our writers. They are are beloved and valued members of Jeopardy,” Davies said in the episode. “Just the respect that everyone holds for each other is something remarkable about this program, and I think it comes across on air.”

After these remarks, his co-host and fellow “Jeopardy!” producer Alexa Macchia praises Davies for trying to “provide the most optimal solution to a situation we all wish was different right now.”

By the podcast’s three-minute mark, all commentary about the series’ missing writers is over. The phrases “WGA,” “strike” or “Writers Guild of America” are never used.

The rest of the episode details Davies’ original plan for the franchise as well as the promised interview with 23-week winner Mattea Roach. Prior to the strike, Davies was planning on running 15 to 16 weeks of post-season episodes and specials tournaments as well as 30 to 31 weeks of regular “Jeopardy!” That would include a “Jeopardy!” invitational in February as well as either a high school or college tournament in May.

The start of the WGA strike changed these plans. Since the show’s writers are currently on strike, the series has resorted to using questions from past games.

“I knew immediately we’d have to postpone our post season,” Davies said. “It would not be fair to have new contestants on the Alex Trebek stage doing it with non-original material or doing it with — as we’ll talk about — a combination of non-original material and material that was written pre-strike.”

To make up for the lack of new questions, “Jeopardy!” will host a second chance tournament for contestants who lost their initial game in Season 37. That will then lead to a Season 37 and Season 38 Champions Wildcard tournament.

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