The show must go on, but as the coronavirus continues to spread, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune will press on without their studio audiences, according to TMZ. As a protective measure, the two game shows will begin filming without audiences today (March 10).
Citing production sources at the two shows, TMZ reports that one factor that contributed to the decision was the health of Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, who is currently battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer and thus has a compromised immune system. Producers at the long-running game show reportedly felt that exposing Trebek to large audiences would be too risky.
Producers at Wheel of Fortune, on the other hand, were reportedly concerned about the fact that their audiences tend to be elderly (meaning they’d be more at risk than others if they were to contract the virus) and audiences for both shows tend to travel in from out of town to attend the tapings. There’s currently no word on how long the shows intend to film without a live studio audience.
On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control issued a warning for Americans aged 60 and over, warning them to stay home if possible because they are more susceptible to becoming seriously ill from coronavirus.
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