An iconic Game Show created by Merv Griffin in 1963 when his wife, Julann, suggested (in a reaction to the quiz show scandals still in recent memory) that he reverse the trivia format — give the contestants the answers and have them provide the questions. Merv pitched it to NBC as What's the Question?, but was told that the game needed "more jeopardies"note . Jeopardy! debuted on NBC in 1964 with Art Fleming as host and Don Pardo as announcer. It ran until January 1975, with a brief revival in 1978/79 (also hosted by Fleming, but announced by John Harlan) that had somewhat different rules.
After two pilots, Jeopardy! came back in 1984 with host Alex Trebek, announcer Johnny Gilbert (both Long-Runners on the show), and much higher cash awards. This version has far outlasted the original, starting its 40th season in September 2023. Other than a few cosmetic changes, the doubling of dollar amounts, and the five-day championship limit becoming a "sky's the limit" policy, the format is almost entirely unchanged. Trebek died on November 8, 2020, with his final episodes airing in January 2021; a rotation of guest hosts filled out the remainder of the season. On August 11, 2021, it was announced that executive producer Mike Richards would become the permanent host for regular episodes, while actress Mayim Bialik would host primetime specials, beginning with the Jeopardy! National College Championship in February 2022. After public backlashnote , they would partially reverse their decision on August 20, 2021, and announce that Mike Richards would be stepping down as hostnote and that they would rotate between Bialik and previous champion contestant Ken Jennings as hosts for its 38th season. On August 31, 2021, Richards was fired as EP. When the 38th season premiered, the stage where the show was filmed was officially rededicated as the Alex Trebek Stage. Then on July 2022, it was announced that both Bialik and Jennings will remain as hosts, as the game show franchise intends to expand, necessitating the need for multiple hosts. In December 2023, Bialik announced her departure from the syndicated series; whether or not she'll remain on primetime specials remains to be seen.
Three Spin Offs have aired over time. In summer 1990, ABC (whose owned-and-operated television stations have carried the show since WABC in New York first picked it up in 1986) aired a 13-episode tournament of champions titled Super Jeopardy!, which was paired with another of Griffin's creations, a game show version of Monopoly. Game Show Network also ran a children's version called Jep! from 1998 to 2000 (hosted by voice actor Bob Bergen), and VH1 created a rock music-themed version called Rock & Roll Jeopardy! which aired from 1998 to 2001 (hosted by Jeff Probst, now better known as the host of Survivor). A number of countries produce local versions of the show with few changes, including keeping the title even if it makes no sense in their language.
A fourth spinoff, Sports Jeopardy! (hosted by Dan Patrick, a former ESPN/current NBC Sports Network and radio sportscaster), debuted on the online video portal Crackle in fall 2014. NBCSN started airing the show in mid-2016.
In November 2020, it was announced that Jeopardy's three biggest champions — Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and James Holzhauer — would be the Chasers in an ABC revival of The Chase. The show premiered January 2021, and was dedicated to Trebek. Jennings departed The Chase in 2022 due to becoming a host (later the sole host) of Jeopardy itself.
Often aired in an hour block with sister show Wheel of Fortune.
