KEN Jennings has revealed that Jeopardy! will finally be hitting streaming platforms for the first time in the show’s history.
After years of fans begging for past and current episodes of the beloved game show series to be available on a streamer, the host confirmed the news in an off-camera confession.
Ken Jennings poses with the Trebek Trophy during Jeopardy! Masters in 2023[/caption]
Jeopardy! is currently airing its 41st season[/caption]
A source who was in the audience of a recent Jeopardy! taping exclusively told The U.S. Sun that Ken, 50, made an announcement that the modernized change would be coming in early 2025.
“It is happening, indeed,” Ken said when asked when the 41 seasons of the Emmy-winning program would be hitting one of the platforms.
The 74-time-champ then said “early 2025” is when fans can expect to catch up on past seasons – adding that it will end up “most likely on Hulu or Prime.”
Fans have been up in arms about having the entirety of the trivia show, including the beloved years hosted by the late Alex Trebek, be available on one of the streaming platforms, such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, Paramount+ or Disney+.
The call for a modern change only intensified over the Summer when Pluto TV – which was the only way for fans to watch the syndicated show outside of cable – abruptly ended its service in July.
Pluto TV is a free, live-stream TV and on-demand video service under the Paramount umbrella that comes with more than 300 channels.
Since 2022, one of those channels has been devoted specifically to Jeopardy!.
Though fans couldn’t go back through seasons and select certain episodes to watch, the live channel had aired reruns of the show 24/7.
Hulu is a contender for hosting Jeopardy! when it finally comes to streaming services[/caption]
Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and Hulu are among the top streaming platforms[/caption]
However, viewers hoping to tune into the episode were suddenly met with a black screen one day with a message that read: “Jeopardy! hosted by Alex Trebek is no longer available on Pluto TV.”
The live feed aired episodes that could not be found anywhere else, including Ken’s original run as a contestant.
Vulture confirmed that Pluto’s agreement with Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune had officially ended and they did not renew the contract.
Fans were fuming about the change and some even left mourning, with one writing at the time: “A moment of silence, please.”
“I hope it stays on a platform too. I love watching those reruns for free anytime both on demand and their own channel,” another wrote.
“Some heads-up would have been nice to warn us when their deal expired,” wrote a third.
“I hope this is just temporary. I’ll be completely bummed with no Jeopardy,” a viewer complained.
“Please no – not when season 40 is ending as well Please don’t let it be!” begged one more.
After the backlash, producers hinted that there would be change coming, and posted a message on Instagram that read: “Stay tuned for the latest Jeopardy! streaming news.”
An Instagram message posted by Jeopardy! hinted at an update for streaming the show[/caption]
Jeopardy! in particular is more difficult to work out a streaming deal with versus other shows as it is syndicated.
Though the show, as well as Wheel of Fortune, are under the Sony Pictures Television umbrella, it airs on different networks, during different times, depending on where you live.
As Ken mentioned the show will “most likely” be hitting Hulu or Amazon Prime’s streaming platform, the upcoming Pop Culture spinoff could be a hint of where the show will land.
Pop Culture Jeopardy! premieres on Wednesday, December 4 and will be airing on Prime.
Saturday Night Live‘s Weekend Update anchor Colin Jost will be the host of the game show’s Hollywood-focused special.
The series had been in the works for some time as it was announced in May and began production in August.
Jeopardy! Host Timeline
Jeopardy! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts after the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are all of the hosts since the game show’s inception in 1964.
Art Fleming – 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.
Alex Trebek – 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted Jeopardy!’s modern iteration for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.
Guest hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested out a series of guest hosts for week or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers.
Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for one week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.
Mayim Bialik – 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.
Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the longest-winning contestant ever) joined Mayim as a guest host and they split hosting duties.
Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a lengthy hiatus, having stood with the writer’s strike, and Ken was named sole host.
Ken now helms all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the nightly show, and other primetime specials like Masters.
Last week, the series teased the spiced-up version with a clip of Colin, 42, making a NSFW joke.
Posted on the show’s official Instagram, the video showed Colin blushing as the category “Big Charles Dickens Energy” popped up on the screen.
It was a nod to the term Big D**k Energy – which was heavily associated with his former pal Pete Davidson.
In response, Colin could only muster the phrase, “My God” as he appeared at a loss for words.
The show captioned the clip: “If they don’t have that ‘Big Charles Dickens Energy’ we don’t want ‘em!”
Pop Culture Jeopardy’s reference to Pete comes after Colin reportedly cut all ties with his close friend and former SNL co-star.
Colin Jost as host for Pop Culture Jeopardy![/caption]
The first photo of the Pop Culture Jeopardy! set has been released[/caption]
