Wheel, Jeopardy & others suspend production due to coronavirus concerns

[brianhenke]

WOF and J! just announced they are suspending production.

Brian

[TimK2003]

Harvey Feud has also stopped production.  Not much of a great loss there...Hell, at this point, they can go YEARS without new episodes and no one would know the difference.

[BrandonFG]

Harvey Feud has also stopped production.  Not much of a great loss there...Hell, at this point, they can go YEARS without new episodes and no one would know the difference.

I hear you, and to us, it's no biggie for the reason you mentioned, but it has to suck for the crew who does this as freelance. As a freelancer, I'd be lying if I said I'm not a little nervous right now.

[clemon79]

I hear you, and to us, it's no biggie for the reason you mentioned, but it has to suck for the crew who does this as freelance. As a freelancer, I'd be lying if I said I'm not a little nervous right now.

As an American, I'd be lying if I said I'm not a little nervous right now.

[Kevin Prather]

As a freelancer, I'd be lying if I said I'm not a little nervous right now.

As an American, I'd be lying if I said I'm not a little nervous right now.

Just applied for unemployment yesterday. Hope the shutdown only lasts two weeks like they said.

[BrandonFG]

I hear you, and to us, it's no biggie for the reason you mentioned, but it has to suck for the crew who does this as freelance. As a freelancer, I'd be lying if I said I'm not a little nervous right now.

As an American, I'd be lying if I said I'm not a little nervous right now.

Oh I’ve been nervous since November 9, 2016.

[chargeradiocom]

A couple days late on this, but here’s a list of shows & how their production schedules are being affected (or not) by the coronavirus. It’s supposed to be updated as they learn more:

http://buzzerblog.com/2020/03/17/upcoming-game-show-schedules-impacted-by-coronavirus/

Also, I updated the thread title to more accurately reflect the current situation.

[Neumms]

They really need to reboot the one game built for contagious diseases, Hollywood Squares.

[Unrealtor]

Jeopardy has announced that the 18-month clock on contestants' eligibility after an in-person audition is essentially frozen for as long as production is stopped (they worded it as extended by an amount equal to the length of the stoppage.) Not surprising, really.

[chad1m]

To help with providing content because of the early production shutdown, starting May 4th, Jeopardy! will repeat the Greatest of All Time matches in eight half-hour chunks, which will be bookended by rebroadcasts of Ken Jennings' first and last games from his 2004 winning streak.

[colonial]

Participants on Sony's J! message board are saying that the show appears to have launched "virtual in-person" auditions via Zoom this week, with auditions taking place Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week. Unsure if this is the first such week of virtual auditioning.



JD

[wxfrcaster]

I work at a station that airs Wheel and Jeopardy!  We took a call today from a furious viewer who wanted Sony's phone number because the players on Wheel were not practicing social distancing. 

[aaron sica]

I work at a station that airs Wheel and Jeopardy!  We took a call today from a furious viewer who wanted Sony's phone number because the players on Wheel were not practicing social distancing. 

Did you put her on hold for a few minutes, then come back and tell her that you talked to Sony and in a few minutes, they'll stand farther apart just for her?

[Jeremy Nelson]

As said previously, what a time for Mike Richards to take over Wheel and Jeopardy. Obviously production can't resume right now, but how does this affect retirement timelines for Pat/Vanna/Alex? If I remember correctly, they're all signed through 2021/22. With both male hosts having recent health issues, does this hasten any of those timelines? Considering that Alex has always wanted a low-key retirement announcement, it wouldn't totally surprise me if he did it during this shutdown.

[Kevin Prather]

With Harry leaving and Mike coming in, I wonder which would lead to more wild speculation: the hosts retiring right before Mike arrives, or them retiring after a year with Mike.