Tag / Celebrity Jeopardy!

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ABC Upfronts

ABC wraps up upfront week with one of their most stable schedules in network history.  Monday once again will simulcast Monday Night Football with ESPN.  The one shock comes on Tuesday, where the next installment of Dancing With the Stars will be followed by R.J, Decker, which was considered to be a bubble show heading into this week.

Wednesday kicks off with the comedy block of Scrubs and Abbott Elementary, followed by another installment of Celebrity Jeopardy! and Shark Tank.  Thursday remains the same with the original 9-1-1 followed by 9-1-1: Nashville and the 23rd season of Grey’s Anatomy.  Friday sees Celebrity Wheel of Fortune followed by two hours of 20/20.  Sunday also stays stable, with America’s Funniest Home Videos followed by three hours of The Wonderful World of Disney.

On the bench for mid-season are new installments of High Potential, American Idol, The Bachelor, Bachelor in Paradise, Shifting Gears, The Rookie, and Will Trent.  The one new scripted show for mid-season is The Rookie: North, a spinoff of The Rookie.

In a first, no shows were cancelled and never to be seen again.

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2025: The Year In Live Performances

After a slow 2024, things rebounded a bit in 2025 for live performances, including a comedy show, a play, a live podcast taping, and a concert.

I kicked off the year on Valentine’s Day, heading downtown to the Chicago Theatre to see comedian Taylor Tomlinson’s Save Me tour.  I became a fan thanks to her gig hosting the revived @fter Midnight on CBS and was thrilled to see her perform live, my first comedy show since 2023.  After two opening acts, Tomlinson came out and commanded the stage.  Once she wrapped things up, she came back out with her openers and did a round of crowd confessions, where they riffed on stories the crowd had texted in earlier.  During the show, a snowstorm started to roll through town, which made getting out of the theater and getting home dry and in one piece a bit tricky.

In March, I made my first visit to Texas in 20 years to take Michael to see the stage version of Clue. He was sick when Angelina, Danny, and I saw it in Chicago back in 2022, so the experience was a new one for him.  We travelled from his dorm in Dallas to the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth on a Saturday afternoon to enjoy the show based on the movie.  Sadly, that was pretty much the total of our interaction, as he kept mostly to his dorm room the remainder of our visit.

I returned to the Chicago Theatre in September for a live taping of the Inside Jeopardy! podcast.  Following the podcast taping, featuring Celebrity Jeopardy! champion W. Kamu Bell and Jeopardy Masters finalist Juveria Zaheer, Ken Jennings came out to play an interactive round of Jeopardy with the audience.  Sadly, a limited signal prevented me from playing along on my phone, but it was still a good time.

My final live performance of the year came in late September when Garbage performed at the Salt Shed, which was my first ever visit to the new-ish venue.  Proclaiming that this was likely to be their final headlining tour of North America, the group put on a great performance that left the audience begging for more.  They have some European dates on the schedule for this summer that I would absolutely attend had I won the billion-dollar Powerball, but this might have been the end of the road for me seeing my favorite band.

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ABC Upfronts

ABC comes in with the most stable schedule heading in to fall, with four consecutive nights showing no change from last fall.  Monday once again will simulcast Monday Night Football with ESPN.  Tuesday will also remain the same, with the next installment of Dancing With the Stars followed by High Potential, which became the network’s most-watched new series in seven years.

Wednesday kicks off with the comedy block of Shifting Gears and Abbott Elementary, followed by another installment of The Golden Bachelor and Shark Tank.  9-1-1 returns for its third season on ABC to kick off Thursdays, followed by new spinoff 9-1-1: Nashville and the 22nd season of Grey’s Anatomy.  Friday sees Celebrity Wheel of Fortune followed by two hours of 20/20.  Sunday also stays stable, with America’s Funniest Home Videos followed by three hours of The Wonderful World of Disney.

On the bench for mid-season are new installments of American Idol, Celebrity Jeopardy, The Rookie, and Will Trent.  The future of Doctor Odyssey is undetermined at this point.

Shows never to be seen again are The Conners, which wrapped up its seven-season run this spring.

 

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Midseason Review – Wednesdays

We have reached the halfway point of our look back at my thoughts on the offerings for the new fall season.  Here’s what Wednesdays had on tap for the fall.

8:00

Joan – Sophie Turner stars in this six-part British series about the so-called “Godmother” of the British criminal underworld.

I guess I would have had to watch it to have any official thoughts on it.  I may get to the recordings one day.

And now the new entries:

Shifting Gears – As much as I like Kat Dennings, I couldn’t find a way past Tim Allen to actually watch this.

Celebrity Jeopardy! – Ken Jennings is back for another go-around with his celebrity friends.

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ABC Upfronts

Change is in the air at ABC, where they are adding new scripted programming after taking last year off due to the WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes.  A familiar name is returning to Mondays, with Monday Night Football back in its long-time perch for selected weeks.  The network has yet to announce what will air in the weeks where football remains on ESPN only.  Dancing With the Stars moves to Tuesday, followed by High Potential, written by Drew Goddard and starring Kaitlin Olson.

Wednesday kicks off with the first installment of The Golden Bachelorette, followed by Abbott Elementary and Scamanda, a docu-series based on the podcast about a wife and blogger who faked cancer.  9-1-1 returns for its second season on ABC to kick off Thursdays, followed by Doctor Odyssey, a new medical drama from Ryan Murphy and starring Joshua Jackson.  The 21st season of Grey’s Anatomy wraps up the night.  Friday remains the same, with Shark Tank followed by two hours of 20/20.  Sunday also stays stable, with America’s Funniest Home Videos followed by three hours of The Wonderful World of Disney.

On the bench for mid-season are new installments of American Idol, The Bachelor, Celebrity Jeopardy, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, the final season of The Conners, The Rookie, What Would You Do? and Will Trent.  A new version of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, produced by Reese Witherspoon, is also on the docket.

Shows never to be seen again are The Good Doctor, Not Dead Yet, and Station 19.

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2023 New Fall Season

Normally, today we would start our annual look at the fall television schedule and the shows I was planning to watch.  This is not a normal time.  The Writer’s Guild of America has been on strike since May 2, and the actors covered under SAG-AFTRA joined the picket lines on July 14.  With no writers and no actors, it is hard to make a whole lot of new TV.  Because of that, this fall’s offerings is a motley collection of reality shows, game shows, repeats, and imported content.

Because of this, we will combine everything for the fall into this post, since it will be a very short list.

Sunday

Nothing!

Monday

Nothing!

Tuesday

Celebrity Jeopardy! – Ken Jennings replaces Mayim Bialik as host and recycled clues will be used due to the ongoing strike.  There’s no telling what celebrities will be participating, since actors are not allowed to promote any projects during the strike.

Wednesday

Nothing!

Thursday

Nothing!

Friday

Nothing!

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ABC Upfronts

ABC is taking a cautious approach to their fall schedule.  With the ongoing writer’s strike putting the availability of scripted shows in doubt, the network has put all of its eggs in the reality basket.  Long-time stalwart Dancing With The Stars, after being shunted off to Disney+ last year, returns to its familiar Monday night perch.  The night ends with the Golden Bachelor, a dating show for AARP-set.  Tuesday night brings another installment of Celebrity Jeopardy! followed by two hours of Bachelor In Paradise.

Wednesday retains a bit of a comedy block, with Judge Steve Harvey, followed by an hour of Abbott Elementary reruns and another installment of What Would You Do?  Game shows take over Thursday night, with Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, Press Your Luck, The $100,000 Pyramid.  Friday remains the same, with Shark Tank followed by two hours of 20/20.  Sunday kicks off with America’s Funniest Home Videos followed by three hours of The Wonderful World of Disney.

On the bench for mid-season are 9-1-1, rescued from FOX, Abbott Elementary, American Idol, The Bachelor, The Conners, The Good Doctor, Grey’s Anatomy, Not Dead Yet, The Rookie, Station 19, Will Trent, and High Potential, the only new show on the docket.

Shows never to be seen again are A Million Little Things, Alaska Daily, Big Sky, The Company You Keep, and The Goldbergs.  The fates of Home Economics and The Rookie: Feds are still up in the air.

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Why Make A Choice?

After a tumultuous 38th season of Jeopardy! that saw the initial choice to replace Alex Trebek removed after a week due to a scandal related to inappropriate comments he had made on an earlier podcast, the producers decided to keep their current jury-rigged hosting situation as is.  Sony Pictures Television has signed both Mayaim Bialik and Ken Jennings to long-term deals that will see the two continuing to split duties on the syndicated game show, while Bialik will continue to host primetime editions of the show as well as the new Celebrity Jeopardy! slated for ABC this fall.

With more versions of Jeopardy! on the air than ever before, and with Bialik continuing to star on Call Me Kat, which has been picked up for a third season, producers felt that multiple hosts would be needed to handle the load.  The search for a new host has been a laborious one, with a parade of celebrity guest hosts completing the show’s 2020-2021 season following Trebek’s death to the naming of Mike Richards as the permanent host before that imploded.

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ABC Upfronts

After a cautious year following the pandemic shut down of 2020, ABC is mixing things up with their fall schedule.  The week gets off to an unfamiliar start, as long-time stalwart Dancing With The Stars is being shunted off to Disney+.  Instead, Monday nights will start with the former summer staple Bachelor In Paradise followed by The Good Doctor.  Tuesday night brings another installment of Bachelor In Paradise followed by The Rookie: Feds, a spinoff of The Rookie starring Niecy Nash.

Wednesday’s comedy block switches things around a bit, with The Conners starting things off, followed by The Goldbergs, Abbott Elementary, and Home Economics.  Big Sky moves over from Thursday to finish off the night.  Thursdays start the same, with Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy followed by Alaska,  starring Hilary Swank as a disgraced journalist who leaves New York for Alaska.  Friday remains the same, with Shark Tank followed by two hours of 20/20.  Sunday stays mostly all reality, with America’s Funniest Home Videos, Celebrity Jeopardy!, and Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, followed by The Rookie.

On the bench for mid-season are Not Dead Yet, a comedy starring Gina Rodriguez, and the returning The Wonder Years, A Million Little Things, American Idol, The Bachelor, and Judge Steve Harvey.

Shows never to be seen again are Black-ish, Queens, and Promised Land.