Jeopardy! abruptly cuts off final round of game due to rare special report and fans are furious for ‘unnecessary’ change
JEOPARDY! viewers have been left fuming after the show unexpectedly cut off during Final Jeopardy on Thursday.
The show was interrupted by an address from President Joe Biden.
Thursday's episode of Jeopardy! aired as normal until the final round, when it abruptly cut off during the Final Jeopardy question.
Viewers flocked to social media to slam the interruption.
"They interrupted the final Jeopardy question for this fool's press conference [crying emoji]," one supporter posted.
"Biden interrupted final jeopardy I am so f**king mad," someone else shared.
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"@potus you seriously interrupted final f**king Jeopardy for this?" a third critic slammed.
"Come on, he interrupted Jeopardy for this," a fourth posted.
WINNER, WINNER
Those who were able to tune in were able to see Isaac Hirsch win his seventh game.
The Burbank, California champion faced off against Liz McKenna and Robert Voyles.
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After two competitive games, some fans worried Isaac was losing his edge.
He managed to steal the game on Thursday, however, leading early on with $6,400 (and a Daily Double), while Robert had $1,000, and Liz had $0.
In Double Jeopardy!, Liz found the remaining Daily Doubles, adding $2,000 only to lose the same amount on the other.
Isaac has 27 correct responses overall and seven incorrect.
As the game came close to ending, he had an impressive $18,400, Robert had $5,800, and Liz had $1,200.
Jeopardy! Host Timeline
Jeopardy! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts after the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are all of the hosts since the game show's inception in 1964.
Art Fleming - 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.
Alex Trebek - 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted Jeopardy!'s modern iteration for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.
Guest hosts - 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested out a series of guest hosts for week or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers.
Mike Richards - 2021, he was named host for one week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show's executive producer at the time.
Mayim Bialik - 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.
Mayim and Ken Jennings - 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the longest-winning contestant ever) joined Mayim as a guest host and they split hosting duties.
Ken Jennings - 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would "no longer" host Jeopardy! after a lengthy hiatus, having stood with the writer's strike, and Ken was named sole host.
Ken now helms all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the nightly show, and other primetime specials like Masters.
Host Ken Jennings announced that the Final Jeopardy category was "Countries of the World."
The clue read, "Until 1991 this country, named for a river, had a capital whose name means 'lakes' in Portuguese."
Only Isaac guessed the answer correctly, writing in "Nigeria."
He added $1,600 to his total earnings, ending the game $20,000, and a seven-day total of $161,388.
SUPER-CHAMPION INCOMING?
After the episode, fans took to Reddit where they noted a pattern in recent Final Jeopardy round categories being "Countries of The World."
Many noted that this category may be a good omen, as it only appears when players are about to go on big win streaks.
"COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD's last five FJ appearances were today, the ToC, Stephen Webb's run, Ray Lalonde's run, and Cris Pannullo's run!" one fan posted.
"I know it's completely random, but it now feels like a running joke to throw COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD in as an FJ! category whenever a super champion is playing," a second commented.
Other fans pointed out how redundant the category name is.
"I've always wondered why the category is called COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD instead of just COUNTRIES. I think we can assume they're part of the world without being told that," someone posted.
Another explained the specificity was, "So you won't expect a country not of this world."
"Jeopardy is ahead of its time; soon we will have additional countries on other planets; they’re just covering the bases….very smart for the reruns in 2087," joked a fifth.
Other fans speculated that Isaac is now the frontrunner for the next Tournament of Champions, given how well he's playing.
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Thus far, the other qualifiers include Survivor alum Drew Basile, Adriana Harmeyer, Alison Betts, Dr. Amy Hummel, and Celebrity Jeopardy's Lisa Ann Walter.
Grant DeYoung and Amar Kakirde, with four wins each, are also expected to join.
