Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Jeopardy! Masters’ On ABC, Where Six Super Champions Match Wits Over 10 Episodes

In the Jeopardy! Masters tournament, hosted by Ken Jennings, six recent super champions compete over ten episodes for a $500,000 grand prize. Amy Schneider, James Holzhauer, Matt Amodio, Andrew He, Mattea Roach and Sam Buttrey will play in a round-robin tournament for points, not dollars. At the end of each game, the first place winner gets 3 match points, the second-place finisher gets 1 match point, and the third-place finisher gets zero points. The three players with the highest match-point totals reach the finals.

JEOPARDY! MASTERS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A shot of the Jeopardy! Masters set, with announcer Johnny Gilbert saying, “Tonight, six elite competitors begin an epic battle.

The Gist: Each episode has two games, with some combination of the six players playing each other. In the first episode, Schneider, Amodio and He play each other in the first game; in the second game, Holzhaurer, Roach and Buttrey face off.

One other tiny twist: Before each round, the TV audience is shown the location of the Daily Doubles, which has never been done before. The studio audience can’t see them, nor can the players. Jennings understands how the purists might feel, so he tells the home audience to look away if they don’t want to be spoiled.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? This has more of the feeling of Jeopardy‘s “Greatest of All-Time” Tournament from 2020, which pitted Jennings, Holzhauer and Brad Rutter against each other. Jennings won a highly entertaining and competitive tournament, which is likely what prompted ABC and producer Michael Davies to create this tournament.

Our Take: Davies and company don’t try to reinvent the wheel with Jeopardy! Masters like they did with Celebrity Jeopardy!. The only new wrinkle is the Daily Double reveal, which we can take or leave. It’s not one of those things we absolutely think is necessary, but it’s fun when DD hunters like Holzhauer find them immediately after Jennings reveals them to the audience.

Because all six players have won double-digit games, they’re all very comfortable behind their podiums, and that comes out in the banter they have with each other and Jennings. It’s especially fun when Jennings trades mild insults with Holzhauer, whom Gilbert introduces as a “professional game show villain.” Remember, the two have not just faced each other at the game podiums, but they worked together on The Chase; Holzhauer praises the “upgrade” to the chasers because Jennings left when he was named Jeopardy! host. Also, Holzhauer’s Final Jeopardy answer is one for the ages.

What the entire hour shows is that Jennings has grown in the job since he took over as a guest host after Alex Trebek’s death in November of 2020. He seems very comfortable with the speed of the game, reading the questions and signaling which are right and wrong, as well as asides he gives based on his own extensive knowledge. The other Jeopardy! host, Mayim Bialik, sometimes still comes off a bit stiff, as if she’s playing the role of a quiz show host, but Jennings doesn’t have that problem anymore.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: Jennings shows the leaderboard, with another twist: In a tie, the person with the greater number of correct responses is in the lead.

Sleeper Star: We’ll give it to Buttrey, not only because he’s the oldest of the six contestants, but he says “Bring it!” before the final clue on the board is revealed and he’s in control.

Most Pilot-y Line: Like we said, the Daily Double reveal seems superfluous, despite some fun when someone like Holzhauer finds one immediately after the reveal.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Jeopardy! Masters is classic Jeopardy!, played by six of the show’s all-time best players. How bad could they have messed that up?

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.