Editor’s note: This story was updated on July 25, 2023 with a statement from the show that was issued to The Hollywood Reporter.
A boycott of the next Tournament of Champions is forthcoming.
13-day champion Ray Lalonde announced his boycott this afternoon on Reddit. Lalonde, a union member, has decided that it is inappropriate of him to cross a WGA picket line to compete in a Tournament.
Lalonde said:
There are now credible reports that the producers are making contingency plans to start filming the next season of the show with old and/or recycled material if the WGA strike remains unresolved.
I am a lifelong devoted fan of Jeopardy!. I am and will always be grateful for the experience I had on the show and the opportunity to participate in the TOC is beyond a dream come true for me. That being said, 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. As a supporter of the trade union movement, a union member’s son and a proud union member myself I have informed the show’s producers that if the strike remains unresolved I will not cross a picket line to play in the Tournament of Champions.
My hope in saying this publicly now is to perhaps influence some future decision to proceed without the writers and to encourage any others in the community who feel the same way to speak out as well. A few small voices may not change any minds but we can try.
The boycott was later joined in the Reddit thread’s comments by top seed Cris Pannullo, third seed Ben Chan, and fourth seed Hannah Wilson. (Edit: Since this article was published, sixth seed Troy Meyer has now also joined in solidarity.)
The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since May 2nd. As a reminder, only the WGA considers Jeopardy! to be a struck production right now; the show falls under SAG-AFTRA’s Network Code, which is not under strike at the moment.
Editorially: I can’t see how the show can proceed with holding the Tournament of Champions if the writers are still on strike, now with the top four seeds standing in solidarity. Certainly attempting to run a Tournament of Champions with the top players missing would absolutely cheapen any title awarded. It will be interesting to see how Sony Pictures TV (and Sony itself) responds. Solidarity with the WGA.
Update: On July 25, 2023, Jeopardy! issued the following statement to The Hollywood Reporter:
Jeopardy! never had any intention of producing a Tournament of Champions for season 39 until the strike is resolved. Further, no contestants from season 39 have been contacted regarding their availability for any postseason tournaments, including the TOC. The Jeopardy! postseason represents the pinnacle of our competition, and it should feature our strongest players playing our toughest original material. Jeopardy! has a long history with and tremendous respect for the WGA and our writers. We have always been careful to honor our WGA agreements and we would never air game material not created by WGA writers. However, just as we did, led by Alex Trebek, during the 2007-2008 strike, we will deliver first-run episodes again this fall to more than 200 affiliate stations nationwide. Our current plan is to go into a holding pattern of sorts, pushing back the season 39 postseason to first produce original episodes featuring the best of our WGA written material. Everyone at Jeopardy! hopes that the guilds and the AMPTP can reach a fair resolution quickly. Celebrity Jeopardy! will return on ABC this fall with original material written by WGA writers before the strike. Jeopardy! and Celebrity Jeopardy! are covered under the SAG-AFTRA Network Code, which remains in effect.
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While this thought is definitely unrealistic, I’m really hoping this is the final piece of the puzzle that gets Sony and the writers on some kind of agreement.
Massive props to Ray for standing in support of the union, and to everyone else who’s joined in as well. While I expected Ray to stand in solidarity, the others came as a surprise to me, since Ray is the sole contestant in this field who is actually a union member.
With five of the six top seeds – and hey, there’s a possibility Stephen Webb joined in while I was writing this comment – explicitly calling for a boycott, I really don’t see how Jeopardy could run a postseason like this. It’s possible, sure, but it would just be so clunky – not to mention, kind of underwhelming – that it really isn’t worth doing it.
I’m hoping Davies has something to say on the matter sooner rather than later.
I didn’t think I could admire Ray Lalonde more than I already do but here I am. Kudos to all the champions for stepping up and speaking out.
Thank you, Andy, for keeping us in the loop as always.
Here’s a thought just hold the TOC at the end of the year. It’s borderline overkill having all these tournaments in one shot at the beginning of the season anyhow.
Significantly fewer people watch TV between June and August; why would it be a good idea, then, from a ratings perspective to play a ToC in July?
So you’d rather have the TOC run at its normal time with the potential of the top seeds not competing? I’d rather delay it and risk less people watching just for the integrity of the tournament. I get ratings and viewership mean a lot but I’m not a fan of going on with the tournament early in the season with this put into consideration.
With all due respect, there are options that are not “do the ToC in November” and “do the ToC in July”.
I never said July in all fairness. I was thinking end of the year as in late December or maybe into January unless things aren’t straightened out by then. Why not do all the pre tournament stuff late November/December and the actual tournament during sweeps in February.
Why is the Jeopardy front office being so cheap? The clue writers deserve a living wage just like everybody else in this country. As for game show contestants, I have absolutely no sympathy for them. Maybe they would agree to put a percentage of their winnings into a Clue Writers Relief Fund?
It’s not really the fault of the Jeopardy! front office; this is a decision being made at least two levels above Michael Davies.
Is the Jeopardy “front office” being cheap? Do the clue writers not make a living wage? I’ve noticed lots of people expressing this sentiment, but has anyone released information about their demands/current situation?
I’m admittedly confused as to whether there is an actual issue with Jeopardy specifically, or if the J! writers are just compelled to join the strike due to the larger, industry-wide fight for more security in the era of streaming and AI. From what I’ve always understood, being a Jeopardy writer is one of the best, most secure gigs for a writer in Hollywood.
I read a news article published shortly before the last strike in 2007 that described a Jeopardy writer’s annual salary as being between $75,000-100,000 USD per year depending on experience. I would assume wages have likely gone up since then.
I make approximately in that range in CANADIAN dollars (ie: ~75% the value of USD) as a small-town lawyer in 2023, 16 years later. And I would assume most people, myself included, would probably prefer the job of a Jeopardy writer over mine, given the choice. I have heard a great deal over the years about the relaxed office culture, job security, and wonderful work/life balance that comes with working as a writer on Jeopardy. This would explain why there is very little turnover amongst the J! writing staff.
Not saying they don’t have a right to ask for more–I wish them all the best in their efforts to secure as big a bag as they can, and I’m sure the studio can afford it–but I don’t really see this as being a perfect parallel to the “living wage” fight that many low income workers are engaged in. And I’ve seen (from online commenters, not the writers themselves) some preemptive ugliness already being directed at other staff, contestants, etc. who might cross the picket line when the season starts. To me anyway, that vitriol seems mean-spirited/misplaced.
It’s a union. It goes beyond the Jeopardy writers by themselves.
I would assume that the writing of Jeopardy clues is in more danger from being turned over to AI than sit-coms or dramas would be (except perhaps the VERY long-running ones that would have a lot of past scripts to mine) and that is a big part of the negotiations. [AI could fairly easily do categories, too, but I bet MUCH less entertainingly.]
Going by their Twitter (and other social media) persona, I feel that two additional potential contestants would also be disinclined to cross a picket line – Guzman and Sibley.
We now have a statement from Jeopardy! on the matter. Per The Hollywood Reporter:
So it looks like we’ll start Season 40 on schedule on September 11 with regular play, with the ToC (and any accompanying postseason events) at some presently unknown date.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/jeopardy-tournament-of-champions-writers-strike-1235544627/
Sounds like they are doing what I anticipated they would. It’s the only logical way to move forward with the current season