There are few game shows that have stood the test of time and have remained culturally relevant. In the daytime, you have “The Price is Right.” But at night you have the double whammy (make your own “Press Your Luck” joke here) of “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!.” Merv Griffin‘s two creations have been packaged together in syndication for years, but it’s the later of which that has become a symbol of intellectual achievement.
So let’s say we shake things up a bit and make a new version that focuses less on geography and potent potables, and more on popular culture?
Fans of “Jeopardy!” know the show occasionally has pop culture categories, but the majority are solidly in various fields of academia. It’s the kind of show that requires you to know as much about various rivers as it does historical monarchs and world events. That’s what gives the show its charm even if it is somewhat limiting in terms of more popular culture. Amazon seeks to change that by doing a pop-culture spin-off of the program for its Amazon Prime streaming service.
This change in format has been done before, even though it’s not often remembered. Jeff Probst (“Survivor“) used to host “Rock & Roll Jeopardy!” back in the late ’90s, and Dan Patrick hosted “Sports Jeopardy!” for a few seasons on Crackle. They were both short lived, perhaps because of how specialized the field of knowledge is for each of them. Pop-culture can encompass a much wider range of topics than just music or sports, which would give this upcoming version a broader sense of appeal.
No host has been announced for the series yet but in discussing the show, Sony Television Production’s head of game shows made an interesting note. Lauren Anderson said the show is “going to be a nail biter for game show enthusiasts who can expect to see teams competing at the highest level of “Jeopardy!…” The key word there is “teams.” Now, maybe she was just referring to groups of individual contestants as “teams.” That is to say, the three traditionally competing contestants are a “team” for the episode. Or maybe this version of “Jeopardy!” has other plans in store.
No official date has been given for the premiere of this version of the game show, but episodes will be premiering globally on Prime Video when they do.
