'Jeopardy!' Season 40 Premiere Date, Hosts and Major Changes
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Jeopardy! Season 40 is coming, and it's bringing some big changes with it.
For one, the runner ups will earn a bit more cash than they did before. Beginning with the upcoming season, contestants in third place will get $2,000 and contestants in second place will go home with $3,000, up $1,000 from the Season 39 prizes.
"This is something that we’ve been working on ever since I really took the reins of the show," Jeopardy! showrunner Michael Davies revealed on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast. "It’s something that obviously is discussed widely within our social communities and with the community of our contestants. We understand that post-COVID, travel costs have increased. We understand how complicated sort of funding a trip to Jeopardy! is for many contestants within our community." (The announcement came a little over a month after viewers expressed outrage that contestants have to pay for their own travel to film the show.)
In addition to the prize amounts increasing, there are other major changes for Jeopardy! Season 40, though most of them will be temporary. Find out what's new for the new season of Jeopardy! and why—as well as when you'll be able to tune in to see them.
Related: How to Get on Jeopardy!
Will there be a Jeopardy! Season 40?
Relax and rejoice, trivia heads: Jeopardy! will have a 40th season, but it will look substantially different from prior seasons due to the WGA writers' strike.
The all-caps clues we know and love are thanks to writers, and the strike means that writers haven't penned enough new clues to get through the entire new Jeopardy! season. As a result, the show will reuse clues from its 39 prior seasons that were written and completed prior to the strike.
"We have always been careful to honor our WGA agreements and we would never air game material not created by WGA writers," a rep for Jeopardy! previously announced. "However, just as we did, led by Alex Trebek, during the 2007-2008 strike, we will deliver first-run episodes again this fall … featuring the best of our WGA written material."
Related: Mayim Bialik's Biggest Tip for Jeopardy! Contestants
Also as a result of the WGA strike, the new season of Jeopardy! will begin with a Second Chance tournament in place of new contestants.
"I believe, principally that it would not be fair to have new contestants making their first appearance on the Alex Trebek stage, doing it with non-original material or ... a combination of non-original material and material that was written pre-strike," Davies explained on Inside Jeopardy!. "And so we decided that really we needed to invite back and give a second chance in general to players who probably thought that their chance to come back and play on the Alex Trebek stage had gone forever. So we're gonna open the season with a second chance tournament for players from Season 37 who lost their initial game, and winners from that will advance to a Season 37 and Season 38 Champions Wild Card."
When is the Jeopardy! Season 40 start date?
The 40th season of Jeopardy! will premiere on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023.
Related: Jeopardy! Champs Refuse to Appear on Tournament of Champions During Writers' Strike
Who is the new host of Jeopardy! Season 40?
Ken Jennings will host the 40th season of Jeopardy!. Mayim Bialik walked away from the series temporarily in solidarity with the writers' strike at the end of Season 39, but will likely be back for primetime tournament matches once the strikes end.
Related: Miss Alex Trebek? Find Out How to Stream Old Jeopardy! Episodes
When is the Jeopardy! Season 40 end date?
The Jeopardy! Season 40 finale will be July 26, 2024.
Related: Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions Delayed Indefinitely
What is the latest season of Jeopardy!?
The most recently aired season of Jeopardy! was Season 39. Season 40 will begin airing in September 2023.
Next, Find Out What Part of Jeopardy! Ken Jennings Hates the Most
