What We Know About Prime’s ‘Pop Culture Jeopardy!’ Spinoff
A Jeopardy! spinoff is coming. And to be honest, I have some mixed feelings about it. Deadline reported that Amazon’s Prime Video ordered Pop Culture Jeopardy!, a spinoff of the long-running game show. Many fans of the show tune in for its educational nature that tests the contestants and audience on general knowledge, which sometimes includes pop culture. Don’t get me wrong, the pop culture bits on the show are an exciting twist that may go “viral” on social media, but it doesn’t take away from the true spirit of the show.
This reminds me of the time when Sports Jeopardy! had a run on Crackle; at the time the ad-supported on-demand platform was owned by Sony. It lasted from 2014 to 2016. The first two seasons consisted of 52 episodes each, while the third lasted just 12. Sports Illustrated reported that the show’s end may have come from the fact that it made its debut at the same time the television industry scrambled to address the cord-cutting trend. Sony was trying something new by making a series digital-only at the time.
Here’s What We Know About “Pop Culture Jeopardy!”
According to multiple sources, the series, which comes from Sony Pictures Television’s Game Show Division, marks the first time that a Jeopardy! series has been created for a streaming service.
The show will launch in more than 240 countries and territories, per Variety.
So, what’s the twist? According to Amazon MGM Studios, contestants, playing in teams of three, will need to be experts in categories from “Alternative Rock to The Avengers; Broadway to MMA; Gen Z to Zendaya” as they compete in a tournament-style event for the grand prize and ultimate bragging rights.
Michael Davies will serve as exec producer. “Pop Culture Jeopardy! is its own cultural moment, marking the first time the iconic franchise will premiere exclusively on a streaming service,” said Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD originals unscripted and targeted programming, Amazon MGM Studios.
“With a team-based approach and pop-culture focus, our global Prime Video customers will exclusively experience this innovative spin on Jeopardy! while testing their knowledge on topics that both define and transcend generations.”
As many of us are probably asking, who’s set to be the host of this spinoff? It has yet to be announced. Since the passing of the show’s longtime host, Alex Trebek, in 2020, the succession process has been hit with some challenges.
The game show held a series of public auditions for a new host. In March 2021, interim host Mehmet Oz created a crisis for the show because of controversial comments he made. “Notable instances mentioned in past coverage of Oz include his claiming, on his show, that arsenic is present in apple juice and that green coffee beans are an effective weight-loss supplement,” according to Variety.
A month later Mike Richards was named the new host of Jeopardy!. Richards quit the high-profile position days after a report by The Ringer revealed offensive and sexist comments he had made on a podcast several years ago, per the New York Times.
Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik were eventually named to host the show on a rotating basis in 2022. This was also short-lived, Bialik was dropped from the lineup, and Jennings was named the sole permanent host of the show last year.
Mixed Feelings About The Spinoff
Overall, I think it could work and introduce a younger audience, but they may want to have a complete game before launching. Some people took the time to speak about the spinoff on Reddit. “Time to speculate on hosts! Unless Ken is doing it which is cool too. Please not Seacrest,” someone said. Another person said, “Should be good as long as they include pop culture through all of history and not limited it to contemporary culture.” Someone else chimed in and was not too happy about the spinoff saying, “As a society we’re getting so dumb they have to nerf Jeopardy….great.”
