The recent Jeopardy! Masters tournament, which was won by James Holzhauer, allowed the show’s producers to try out some new things. But not all these format changes will be sticking around.
In addition to introducing a soccer-style points-based format for a win, Masters let viewers see where the Daily Doubles were hidden on the board. However, the latter idea might be a one-and-done deal, as the show’s executive producer Michael Davies admits wasn’t a fan.
“[Masters] was every bit as good as I hoped it was going to be, and I think we can make it better in the future,” Davies said on the most recent episode of the Inside Jeopardy! podcast. And it seems one of those ways to improve the show could be getting rid of the Daily Double reveals.
“Almost everybody’s asking me about the reveal of the Daily Double,” Davies continued. “That is almost the minor detail that was done as a format gift to ABC. I’m sort of on the fence about it; it feels to me like a bit of a stage weight, to be honest, and it was my idea, but we don’t really need it.”
“I’d love it to be part of a companion app,” he added. “And I think that we need to really look at the shot sequence of the selection of categories and how the clue then goes full screen, and we either need to get the category on the full-screen clue or we need to change the shot sequence so it’s very clear from which the clue is coming.”
Davies’ comments come in contrast to what host Ken Jennings said last month when speaking to WISN Channel 12 Milwaukee News about the Masters tournament and the new Daily Double format.
“I don’t know if we’ll try it on the syndicated show,” Jennings said, “but I really like it because the host always knows where the Daily Doubles are in advance, so I get to watch a contestant who really needs the Daily Double kind of advance towards it, ‘Oh, is she gonna get it? Oh no, she’s switched categories!”
As for the Jeopardy! fans, opinion was split on revealing the Daily Doubles. “It’s a fun thing to try,” wrote one viewer on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum. “For those who want to know or think the games were rigged, this satisfies them. For those who want to stick to tradition, closing your eyes for 5-10 seconds isn’t a big deal.”
“I’m totally indifferent to it,” said another. “When I watch Jeopardy! I’m never actively thinking “Ooh, where are the Daily Doubles?” There’s no “spoiler” aspect to me by revealing where they are before the round.”
Another viewer added, “I don’t see the point of it. It doesn’t add anything to the game (especially since their locations aren’t revealed to the contestants) and it really just isn’t necessary for viewers to know.”