J is for Jeopardy! #AtoZChallenge

More specifically, the Jeopardy! production schedule.

(Also, as a note, I will not be using the exclamation point going forward. But as always, I want to acknowledge that it is part of the official show title.)

All I know about the Jeopardy production schedule is that they film all the episodes for the week on one day (and I learned that from a middle grade novel. Reading: it really is fundamental).

I also know that Alex Trebek is definitely in the high risk category for COVID-19 because he is elderly AND has a cancer diagnosis. In fact, he posted this video to Twitter celebrating his one-year cancer survival anniversary on March 4, exactly one week before my school announced that we were moving to remote instruction.

So I assumed that as soon as businesses and institutions started shutting down in California, Jeopardy would be one of the first to heed the call. And then when the Safer at Home order was issued and TV shows announced they were stopping production, I knew in my soul that Jeopardy was one of them. Which is great!

But that also meant no new episodes of Jeopardy.

Imagine my surprise and delight that new episodes of Jeopardy have continued to air. And, IN FACT, the Jeopardy college championship episodes are currently airing. Because, BLESS THAT SHOW’S PRODUCTION SCHEDULE, they were done however far in advance.

The point is that I currently have something to look forward to that feels a little bit normal amidst all this change. Because I’m not familiar with the show’s production schedule (and I’m not going to look it up), I don’t know how long these new episodes will last, but I plan to enjoy them while they do.

For this year’s A to Z Challenge, I have decided that I’m going to focus on my survival/coping strategies while practicing social distancing. What are the things that make it bearable? What helps alleviate my stress and fear–or at least what distracts me from both? Tune in tomorrow to see what I have chosen for K!