Names and faces
■ “Jeopardy!” is returning for its 37th season, with greater social distance between Alex Trebek and the contestants, and a new role for all-time great contestant Ken Jennings. Jennings, the record-setting contestant who won on 74 straight shows and took last year’s “Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time” title, is joining the series as a consulting producer. He’ll appear on-air with his own video categories, develop projects and act as a public ambassador for the show. “Though I’ve played my last round of “Jeopardy!” as a contestant, I’m delighted to have the opportunity to remain involved with my favorite show,” Jennings said in a statement. “I’m still in on all the action, but I don’t have to worry about phrasing things in the form of a question anymore.” The new season of “Jeopardy!” will also feature a redesigned set for the coronavirus era to allow for the contestants to be spaced farther apart and at a greater distance from Trebek, who has continued as host after a diagnosis last year of pancreatic cancer. Trebek said last month that he’s responding exceptionally well to treatment for it and expects to mark his two-year survival in February. The casting of contestants was done entirely online for this season, which was shot without a studio audience.
■ Just days after filming resumed on “The Batman” at studios outside London, it shut down again after the film’s star, Robert Pattinson, tested positive for the coronavirus, according to two people with knowledge of the production. In a statement Thursday, Warner Bros. confirmed that filming was “temporarily paused” and that “a member of ‘The Batman’ production has tested positive for covid-19, and is isolating in accordance with established protocols.” Warner Bros. declined to comment beyond the statement issued. Vanity Fair was the first to report the news Thursday. In the title role, Pattinson, 34, plays a young Bruce Wayne early in his career as the DC comic-book vigilante. Work on the film first shut down in March because of the pandemic, which has staggered the entertainment industry. Filming began last September. In April, Matt Reeves, the director and writer of the film, told The New York Times that it was “quite surreal” to have production halted by a global pandemic. The news of Pattinson’s positive test came a day after Dwayne Johnson, the actor and former wrestler known as the Rock, announced on Instagram that he and his family had recently tested positive for the coronavirus. Johnson, 48, said they had become infected around 2 ½ weeks ago, from “very close family friends.”