Fans know just how to push his buzzers.
“Jeopardy!” executive producer Mike Davies criticized viewers who don’t approve of a new rule change he’s considering.
Davies appeared on the “Inside Jeopardy!” podcast last month where he revealed that he’s thinking of giving contestants cash for answering all the clues in one category correctly.
He explained that the cash bonus would be a completely separate, extra reward. It would also not change who wins the game.
The game show boss — who took the helm of the long-running series in 2021 — clapped back at the haters on Tuesday.
“A lot of response … [over] the not yet reigned-in idea that I floated,” he told the Sun.
“It doesn’t need to be reigned-in yet because it hasn’t been enacted in any way,” he said. He added that the new rule “would not affect the game” in any way.
Davies continued: “But a lot of responses on social [media] to award a prize of some sort to people who run a category on ‘Jeopardy!’ That would not. Would not affect gameplay.”
“It would not add to that game total, it would not be [on player’s scores] it would be a separate thing,” he said.
Social media users were quizzical about how the new rule would work.
“No no no no no. No sponsor prizes no BS. Do not turn this game into #WheelofFortune,” one exclaimed.
Another queried: “Why? I mean, why? … There is nothing wrong with #Jeopardy! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
“If the contestant gets some tangible prize to take home, but not one that impacts the SCORE of the game, I’d be down,” someone tweeted.
They added: “I also think it shouldn’t be worth much more than the total of the clues. For instance, a $35k car for $6k worth of correct responses seems like overkill to me.”
The criticism of Davies’ proposal extends beyond viewers.
Former “Jeopardy!” champion Buzzy Cohen expressed his skepticism about the rule change on an episode of the “Inside Jeopardy!” podcast in September. “It’s going to affect gameplay strategy and I don’t know if that’s something you’re interested in doing,” Cohen said at the time.
However, Davies shot back: “It might also give incentive to people who are trailing, to go into a category and get something from the game beyond their second or third place [consolation] prize.”
