'Jeopardy!' to Host First Ever All-Star Games

CBS Television Distribution’s Jeopardy! opens its 35th anniversary on Monday, and during the year, the game show will run its first ever all-star tournament, titled Jeopardy! All-Star Games.

“After nearly 35 years, it is exciting to do something we’ve never done before,” said Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. “The returning contestants have all been incredibly successful as individual players, so we look forward to seeing what they can achieve in teams. How will they strategize? How will they adapt? What new skills will they discover? We will all find out together.”

The event will run from Feb. 20 to March 5, 2019, and feature six teams of three players each. Fan favorites Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, Julia Collins, Austin Rogers, Colby Burnett and Buzzy Cohen will serve as team captains. Roster players are Leonard Cooper, Roger Craig, Jennifer Giles, Ben Ingram, Matt Jackson, Alex Jacob, Larissa Kelly, Alan Lin, David Madden, Pam Mueller, Monica Thieu and Seth Wilson.

Teams will be determined when all 18 contestants travel to Los Angeles for a live draft event hosted by Alex Trebek on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 10 a.m. PT. The Jeopardy! All-Star Games draft will be streamed in real time on Facebook Live.

Throughout the season, fans can participate in the lead-up to the Jeopardy! All-Star Games, including a fantasy league and sweepstakes where viewers can draft their own all-star team and follow them through the tournament. 

Jeopardy! is produced by Sony Pictures Television and executive produced by Harry Friedman. CBS Television Distribution distributes the show to TV stations in syndication.

Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.