NBC announced on twitter that Jeopardy will be abandoning its long-held trivia format. Instead, the 57-year-old game show will pivot to a less rigid structure in which contestants will be tasked with sharing their most amusing anecdotes. The change is an attempt to appeal to a younger audience more interested in personality than facts.
The show’s Executive Producer Michael Davies insists that the show is not abandoning what made the show great but is instead focusing on its “more appealing aspects”. The sharing of mildly interesting stories has always been part of the show, with each of the three contestants sharing a little bit about themselves during the intermission between the first and second rounds.
According to Davies, the core audience is aging at an alarming rate and that changes were needed to ensure the show’s continued success. “These kids weren’t alive when Henry VIII was king, how would they know who he married? We are playing to their strengths which are making snap judgements about a person’s character and personality”.
The show posted a teaser to their YouTube Channel in which a contestant had to guess which of the others studied abroad in St. Petersburg. You can view the teaser here.