Jeopardy! will undergo several changes in the coming weeks which will impact TV viewers, including a brand-new set and the hopeful return of a fan-favorite element.
The game show’s executive producer, Michael Davies, appeared on Monday’s (September 16) episode of the Inside Jeopardy! podcast, where he spoke to fellow producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss and new podcast co-host Sam Buttrey about the future of the show.
“Huge new changes for Season 41!” Davies said before revealing that viewers will be introduced to a new set on October 14. “If you’re watching on air, you probably don’t notice a lot, you’re probably thinking, ‘Well, were they gonna do a new set? Were they gonna have a new open?’ And those things aren’t really there.”
He continued, “We should say that the set will be new for the shows we start taping today in Jeopardy! production time. You will start to see a new set on the show in the episodes that start airing…”
“October 14th!” Foss added.
There were no details of what the new set will entail, but one fan on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum wrote, “Hope it wasn’t done by the same person who designed the new Wheel set.” Wheel of Fortune returned last week with a new set that has been met with a mixed reaction.
Michael Davies
Davies also revealed they’ve been working on bringing back the famous “beep-boop” sounds. This became a hot topic back in October 2022 when host Ken Jennings told the studio audience he missed the “beep-boop-boop-boop-boop” sounds on the game board, which he noted were removed due to time constraints.
“We’ve wanted to bring back those,” Davies explained. “It’s like many things in the world of Jeopardy!, it’s gone through searching mountains of paperwork to figure out who is responsible for the original sound. There’s a lot of music clearance that happens in television. And in the end, it’s posing some challenges to us because of the authorship [being] a little bit in question.”
Foss added, “We hear you. That’s the biggest thing I want you to know. We hear you, and we’re trying to make it happen. There’s just a little bit more to it than we thought.”
Elsewhere on the podcast, the producers touched on Jeopardy!’s streaming future after Pluto recently dropped its dedicated Jeopardy! (and Wheel) channels.
Before revealing how “we’re going to gradually transition Jeopardy! into streaming,” Davies made it clear, “We’re never leaving broadcast… as long as broadcast exists, Jeopardy! will be in broadcast. We’re so happy with our relationship with both ABC primetime, the ABC television stations and the 200 broadcast stations we have all around the country.”
“But we see the change in behavior, especially amongst younger viewers, and we just noticed they want access to streaming,” Davies continued. “A huge percentage of our views on Jeopardy! come on YouTube. We know the demand is there for Jeopardy! episodes. As part of the renewal deal with ABC, we got the next day streaming rights, so 24 hours after the initial broadcast, we have the ability to go and sell those episodes to streaming.”
Davies confirmed that talks with streamers are “heavily ongoing right now with multiple streamers about the next day streaming rights.”
Related‘Jeopardy!’ Fan Favorite Sam Buttrey Lands New Job With Show
While discussing the topic of streaming, Davies revealed his contract with Jeopardy! is up next May. “My big thing that I’m working for the next slightly more than half a year is working on the streaming contract,” he said.
Foss replied, “We’re not letting [Davies] leave just because his contract is up.”
The pair also confirmed they will have the rights for next day streaming from September 2025.
Finally, Buttrey confirmed he will no longer be able to compete on Jeopardy! now that he’s an official host of the podcast. Davies also answered questions regarding Buzzy Cohen‘s status with the show, noting, “We assure the world of Buzzy that he is going to remain part of the Inside Jeopardy! family as a contributor.”
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