![]() ![]() “And when I said it, it was almost like I said ‘Voldemort.’”ĭavies, who grew up in southeast London, got his big television break working as a programming executive at ABC in New York. “I think I was the first producer to out loud say the word ‘Coryat’ from these offices,” Davies says. It involves growth, modernization, and leaning way, way into elements of gameplay long held sacred by the show’s most devoted fans-including a metric called a Coryat score that has been deployed for years on message boards and subreddits to grade the performance of contestants. Now, a year and a half into his tenure, Davies has a plan for the show’s future, and that vision has more in common with soccer or baseball than the glitz of Family Feud or even Jeopardy!’s sister show, Wheel of Fortune. Alex Trebek, the beloved longtime host of the program, died in 2020 the search for his replacement ended in fiasco in 2021. ![]() Over the last few years, Jeopardy! has found itself in unusually turbulent seas. “That’s where I’ll find the next bunch of these players.” “It’s incredible to work with players of this caliber,” Davies gushes, and feigns sadness about the prospect of returning to taping regular Jeopardy! the following week. He crows at a game’s leader for not actually having that many right answers, and bemoans another for having by far the most buzzes but the least success in breaking through. Most fascinating is the live view of players’ buzzer attempts. During a break in the action, he shows off a photo of the panels he has arranged before him. As the games get underway in the studio, Davies can hardly contain his excitement about the wealth of player stats-what he calls Jeopardata, a term that the show trademarked last year-pouring in. The point system isn’t the tournament’s only nod to sports. It features a grand prize of $500,000, the third-biggest purse ever offered on Jeopardy! The format is modeled loosely after the English Premier League: three points for a win, one point for second place, and zilch for last. The tournament, which is currently airing in prime time on ABC, features six storied Jeopardy! champions facing off in varying permutations to rack up points. But with Masters beginning to unfold, he wants to be closer to the action, and settles in at the judges’ table inches from the stage’s glossy edge. In his usual wardrobe of Stan Smith sneakers and-true to form for the longtime cohost of the popular soccer podcast Men in Blazers-a black blazer, he typically spends tapings observing from a seat in the control room. And there is a new format, the brainchild of new-OK, new- ish-executive producer Michael Davies.ĭavies, who joined Jeopardy! in August 2021, is a frenetic presence on set. There is a new audience, whose members were required to sign NDAs to safeguard what they are about to witness. ![]() There is a new starry backdrop and an enormous Masters-branded floor panel that on one occasion nearly takes out Ken Jennings as he attempts to make his way to the host’s lectern. So long, everybody.It’s the opening day of the Jeopardy! Masters tournament, and the quiz show’s Culver City soundstage is buzzing. $100,000 for Arthur, $50,000 to Julia, and we thank you for tuning us in. ![]() He's gonna wind up in second place, but Ben Ingram, come on! Way to go.) (Alex: There's no Cairo in a Shakespeare title.) Of the 5 cities mentioned in Shakespeare play titles, it's the only one not found in Europe ![]()
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