For the first time in quite a long time, Jeopardy! is airing in primetime. There's been much fanfare surrounding the game show's Greatest Of All Time tournament, which started Tuesday and could potentially be a seven-night showdown between the game's three greatest champions. The first two nights have certainly delivered on the drama, which has me asking, can primetime Jeopardy! be a more regular thing?
The magic of Jeopardy! The Greatest Of All Time has really sold me on the idea that the game show can have at least one high profile tournament a year and keep folks invested. Already we've seen the magic of what jumping to primetime can do for the show, as Alex Trebek and crew have really hyped up this multi-generational match up of champions so that it's a marquee event.
Of course, Jeopardy! does tournaments all the time, and they seem to get a fair enough amount of attention without airing during peak television time slots for networks. That said, Jeopardy! is a series that airs at several different times in several different regions, and any tension in big episodes can be spoiled by whichever time zone saw the episode first. That effect has been lessened with ABC hosting it in a primetime slot, and more people can enjoy the thrill of the competition at the same time.
That's a difference maker in the world of social media, and Jeopardy! memes are about as thrilling and hilarious as they've ever been with the show airing in primetime. Lessening the time zone disparity between many different places has allowed the show to trend on Twitter, and get people way more excited than many may believe anyone can get about Jeopardy!.
ABC would probably be more than likely to say yes to future Jeopardy! episodes in primetime, especially after the opening episode drew 14.37 million viewers (via THR). That's a level of viewership rarely seen in this golden age of television, and it's being done by one of the oldest game shows on television. It could just be the perfect storm of seeing three of the show's biggest stars go head to head, paired with Alex Trebek's health being a topic of great public interest, though I'm inclined to think people just really like the show.
Jeopardy! is fun to keep up with, and bumping it to primetime while most high-profile television is on break has made the wait for new episodes of other shows much more bearable. I would certainly be up for seeing this happen during the summer for a short stint, or for yet another tourney to be planned for next year. Hey, maybe there will be a bit of controversy in the Greatest Of All Time tournament that warrants a rematch this time in 2021?
Jeopardy! The Greatest Of All Time tournament continues on ABC, weeknights (minus Friday, January 10), at 8:00 p.m. ET until a contestant has won 3 matches. Be sure to stick with CinemaBlend for more details on the event in the meantime, and for a look at what other things are happening in television and movies.
