Buzz
This iconic game show has captivated millions of viewers for decades. Yet, its journey has been marked by periods of uncertainty, with its future hanging in the balance more than once.
At 44, Alex Trebek was thriving when he invited a journalist into his Southern California residence. A seasoned professional, Trebek had spent years as a newscaster and sportscaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, striving to establish himself as a television star. Despite his efforts, success had eluded him—until the 1984 TV season, when he secured the role of host for Jeopardy!, a breakthrough opportunity.
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The show had a tumultuous past. While its ratings peaked in the 1960s and early 1970s, it faced cancellation not once, but twice. Now, the high-stakes trivia competition was being revamped for a modern audience. Trebek soon realized that the biggest challenge was persuading station managers to allocate prime slots to an intellectually demanding game show. This was no easy task, as proven hits like The Price Is Right and Family Feud consistently attracted large audiences. A cerebral program like Jeopardy! was seen as a risk. In key markets, including New York, it was pushed to a 2 a.m. slot, a graveyard for ratings. Despite pressure to simplify the clues and make the show more accessible, Trebek held onto hope.
As Trebek and the reporter conversed, he casually turned on his television. Los Angeles was unique at the time, broadcasting the show at a reasonable 3 p.m. slot. However, instead of seeing himself welcome the audience, Trebek was met with Jack Klugman. The local station had swapped Jeopardy! for reruns of Quincy, M.E. Reflecting on the irony, Trebek later remarked that Quincy’s role as a coroner felt fitting. His optimism vanished in an instant.
Three decades have brought significant change. Trebek no longer frets about his job stability. But before audiences embraced the habit of yelling answers at their screens, the show’s team had to address a persistent concern: Was Jeopardy! too intellectually challenging for mainstream success?
The Making of Jeopardy!
In television’s early years, game shows were a network’s ace in the hole. They were inexpensive to produce, lacking costly actors, yet they cultivated passionate followings—ordinary viewers who reveled in the thrill of winning household prizes. As Olaf Hoerschelmann, Ph.D., director of the school of mass communication at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, noted, “A single hit quiz show could capture a 50 percent ratings share or more—half of all households tuning in.”
During the 1950s, at the peak of game show popularity, programs like Twenty-One and
The genre nearly vanished after losing the public’s trust and facing new federal laws banning game show manipulation. Merv Griffin, a television host and producer for NBC, was deeply concerned. During a 1963 flight to New York, Griffin shared his worries with his wife, Julann: How could he persuade networks to embrace trivia-based shows again?
“What if you gave them the answers first?” Julann quipped.
Though she meant it as a joke, Griffin was inspired. He drafted a format featuring 10 categories, each with 10 answers of increasing difficulty, each assigned a monetary value. Griffin hosted trial runs at his Central Park West apartment with friends. While the inverted answer format wasn’t new—CBS Television Quiz had used it in 1941—Griffin believed he could refine it into something extraordinary. He pitched the concept, titled What’s the Question?, to NBC executives.
The network showed interest but remained cautious. Griffin reassured them by highlighting the minimal financial risk compared to earlier decades, with some clues valued as low as $10. Eventually, he secured their approval.
As Griffin polished the show’s format, the network sought assurance that it would captivate audiences. An executive proposed adding “more jeopardies” to heighten the excitement. Griffin recalled, “I stopped listening after that. All I could focus on was the perfect name: Farewell What’s the Question?, welcome Jeopardy!” After months of adjustments, he presented the final version for approval.
The game was simplified into six categories, progressing from Jeopardy to Double Jeopardy, where tougher questions carried higher stakes. In NBC’s boardroom, Griffin demonstrated the concept using envelopes on poster boards, each containing index cards with answers. He personally hosted the trial run.
Griffin finalized the details, selecting Art Fleming, a newcomer to game shows, as the host. He composed a suspenseful theme song to set the tone. However, the true test was the ratings. Jeopardy! debuted at 11:30 a.m. EST on March 20, 1964, competing against The Dick Van Dyke Show. It quickly became a sensation, capturing 40 percent of the audience in its time slot. Fans played along during lunch breaks and on college campuses. Despite its popularity, NBC pushed for easier clues to attract younger viewers, but Griffin stood firm, insisting the show remain a showcase of adult intellect.
“Griffin’s brilliance lay in creating games that were instantly understandable,” says Bob Harris, a seasoned contestant and author of Prisoner of Trebekistan. “Failed shows waste time explaining rules, but Griffin’s designs were intuitive.” His instincts proved correct. Between 1964 and 1975, Jeopardy! produced over 2,500 episodes, consistently outperforming reruns and soap operas.
In 1975, NBC unexpectedly canceled the show, aiming to target a younger, female audience. It was briefly revived in 1978 but axed again within six months. Daytime soaps had taken over afternoon slots, and network research suggested viewers weren’t interested in a Jeopardy! revival. The show seemed destined to become a mere footnote in Griffin’s legacy.
Jeopardy! at Risk
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In 1983, Griffin pitched a syndicated version of Jeopardy! to King World Productions. Despite the show’s earlier decline, Griffin’s career was thriving. His creation, Wheel of Fortune, inspired by his childhood love for Hangman, had become a massive success by late 1983. Griffin also found success with shows like Click and Ruckus. Yet, he remained passionate about Jeopardy!, convinced it still had potential. King World executives shared his optimism, buoyed by the trivia craze sparked by Trivial Pursuit, which debuted in 1981. They believed pairing Jeopardy! with Wheel would make it easier to sell to networks.
Griffin aimed to modernize the show for the 1980s, a decade defined by VCRs, video games, and MTV. He envisioned a sleeker, more dynamic version, replacing paper cards with high-tech video monitors. With the quiz show scandals long behind, he also proposed increasing the stakes, with clues worth up to $2000. The original theme song would be revamped with synthesizers for a contemporary feel.
Fleming was the first casualty of the revamp. King World recommended Trebek, a younger and more polished host, to lead the faster-paced show. “He’s like the show’s pilot,” Harris explains. “He knows how to maintain the right tone and when to inject humor.”
Despite Trebek’s appeal, King World executives echoed earlier concerns, urging Griffin to simplify the questions. Once again, Griffin stood his ground, and this time, Trebek backed him up.
“We received feedback claiming the questions were too difficult,” Trebek later shared in an interview. “I assured them I’d tone it down, but I never did.”
Instead of catering to the syndicate, Griffin and Trebek heightened the game’s stakes. Runners-up would no longer retain their earnings. The original show revealed that players often stopped competing once they reached a specific goal, such as saving for an engagement ring. Now, contestants were encouraged to wager in Final Jeopardy, keeping the tension alive until the very end.
When Jeopardy! returned in the fall of 1984, its revamp went largely unnoticed. Initially relegated to unfavorable time slots, the show was seen as a relic of the 1970s. However, when New York’s ABC station aired it in the early evening, ratings surged. Other affiliates quickly followed, realizing the show’s brisk pace was ideal for evening viewing, even if it didn’t fit daytime programming.
Trebek believed viewers would engage more if they felt like active participants. Earlier versions allowed contestants to buzz in before the host finished reading, creating chaos. By 1985, the show delayed buzzing until Trebek completed the clue, letting home audiences play along. These adjustments, combined with the syndicate’s patience and Trebek’s hosting finesse, transformed Jeopardy! into a lasting and lucrative television staple.
By 1989, Jeopardy! had amassed over 15 million daily viewers, with 250,000 hopefuls vying for just 500 contestant spots each season. The show’s iconic elements—its unforgettable theme music and the requirement to phrase answers as questions—became ingrained in popular culture.
A pivotal change came when the show eliminated the five-game cap for champions. This decision paved the way for Ken Jennings’ historic 74-game winning streak in 2004, capturing national attention and solidifying the show’s place in cultural history. Hoerschelmann notes that Jennings’ fame marked the quiz show genre’s full-circle evolution, stating, “The show’s popularity surged after removing the limit.”
The 2013–14 season marked Jeopardy!’s 30th year in syndication, attracting an average of 25 million weekly viewers. Despite Trebek’s hints of retiring in 2016, the show remains a powerhouse. While replacing Trebek will be a challenge, Jeopardy! is poised to continue celebrating intellectual prowess in an era where instant access to information makes such feats even more remarkable.
“Jeopardy! embodies the classic hero’s journey,” says Harris, a former contestant, reflecting on its lasting appeal. “Contestants face escalating challenges and stakes, structured in three acts. The only difference from Joseph Campbell’s model is the presence of three heroes—or four, if you include the viewer at home, who discovers they know far more than they realized.”
