Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given general knowledge clues in the form of answers and they must identify the person, place, thing, or idea that the clue describes, phrasing each response in the form of a question.
"Jeopardy", "Double Jeopardy!", and "Final Jeopardy!" redirect here. For other uses, see Jeopardy (disambiguation), Double Jeopardy (disambiguation), and Final Jeopardy (disambiguation).Jeopardy!
- Bob Hultgren
- Eleanor Tarshis
- Jeff Goldstein
- Dick Schneider
- Kevin McCarthy
- Clay Jacobsen
- Lucinda Owens Margolis
- Russell Norman
- Julann Griffin
- Merv Griffin
- Steve Kaplan
- Chris Bell Music & Sound Design
- Bleeding Fingers Music
"Think!"
United States
English
40
9,000
- Robert Rubin
- Merv Griffin
- Harry Friedman
- Mike Richards
- Michael Davies
Alex Trebek Stage (formerly Stage 10)
Sony Pictures Studios, Culver City
22–26 minutes
- January Enterprises (1964–1975)
- Califon Enterprises (1978–1979)
- Jeopardy Productions, Inc. (1984–present)
- Merv Griffin Productions (1964–1975, 1978–1979)
- Merv Griffin Enterprises (1984–1994)
- Columbia TriStar (Domestic) Television (1994–2002)
- Sony Pictures Television[a] (2002–present)
March 30, 1964 –
January 3, 1975
1974 –
1975
NBC
October 2, 1978 –
March 2, 1979
Daily syndication
September 10, 1984 –
present
The original daytime version debuted on NBC on March 30, 1964, and aired until January 3, 1975. A nighttime syndicated edition aired weekly from September 1974 to September 1975, and a revival, The All-New Jeopardy!, ran on NBC from October 1978 to March 1979 on weekdays. The syndicated show familiar to modern viewers and aired daily (currently by Sony Pictures Television[a]) premiered on September 10, 1984.
Art Fleming served as host for all versions of the show between 1964 and 1979. Don Pardo served as announcer until 1975, and John Harlan announced for the 1978–1979 season. The daily syndicated version premiered in 1984 with Alex Trebek as host and Johnny Gilbert as announcer. Trebek hosted until his death, with his last episode airing January 8, 2021, after over 36 years in the role. Following his death, a variety of guest hosts completed the season[1] beginning with consulting producer and former contestant Ken Jennings, each hosting for a few weeks before passing the role onto someone else. Then-executive producer Mike Richards initially assumed the position of permanent host in September 2021, but relinquished the role within a week.[2] Mayim Bialik and Jennings served as permanent rotating hosts of the syndicated series until December 2023, when Jennings became the sole syndicated host.[3] While Bialik was originally arranged to host additional primetime specials on ABC, and spin-offs, the announcement of Jeopardy! Masters in 2023 meant these duties were shared as well. Following Bialik's withdrawal in part of supporting writers and actors due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Jennings assumed hosting duties for all forms of media.
Currently in its 40th season, Jeopardy! is one of the longest-running game shows of all time. The show has consistently enjoyed a wide viewership and received many accolades from professional television critics. With over 8,000 episodes aired,[4] the daily syndicated version of Jeopardy! has won a record 39 Daytime Emmy Awards as well as a Peabody Award. In 2013, the program was ranked No. 45 on TV Guide's list of the 60 greatest shows in American television history. Jeopardy! has also gained a worldwide following with regional adaptations in many other countries.
Mike Richards was the host of the show for one week in 2021 before resigning the position amid controversy.
Mayim Bialik shared hosting duties on the syndicated version from 2021 to 2023, while also hosting the prime-time Jeopardy! National College Championship and first Celebrity Jeopardy! tournaments. In December 2023, Bialik was removed from her role as a syndicated co-host of Jeopardy!
Ken Jennings shared hosting duties on the syndicated version from 2021 to 2023, while also hosting the prime-time Jeopardy! Masters and second Celebrity Jeopardy! tournaments. In December 2023, Jennings became the sole host of Jeopardy! for all forms of media.
Record holders[edit]
Jeopardy!'s record for the longest winning streak is held by Ken Jennings, who competed on the show from June 2 through November 30, 2004, winning 74 matches before being defeated by Nancy Zerg in his 75th appearance. He amassed $2,522,700 over his 75 episodes, for an average of $33,636 per episode. At the time, he held the record as the highest money-winner ever on American game shows, and his winning streak increased the show's ratings and popularity to the point where it became TV's highest-rated syndicated program.[206] In addition to these winnings on the daily Jeopardy! series, Jennings returned for a number of Jeopardy! special tournaments, taking home the following: the second-place prize of $500,000 in the 2005 Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions, the $300,000-second-place prize in the 2011 Jeopardy! IBM Challenge, the $123,600-second-place prize in the 2014 Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades, a $100,000 prize (one-third of the $300,000-second-place prize to his three-player team) in the 2019 Jeopardy! All-Star Games,[207] and the $1,000,000 first-place prize in the 2020 Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time tournament.
The record holder for lifetime Jeopardy!-related winnings is Brad Rutter, who has won nearly $5.2 million in cash and prizes across five episodes of the regular series (when the rules stipulated that a contestant who won five consecutive days retired undefeated) and seven Jeopardy! tournaments and events (winning five of those specials, along with two third-place finishes).[208] Counting all prizes that he won, he has achieved a cumulative total of $5,129,036 in winnings, which included: the $55,102 prize over five regular episodes in 2000 (also including the value of two cars won, worth $45,000), the $100,000 first-place prize in the 2001 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions,[209] the $1,000,000 first-place prize in the 2002 Jeopardy! Million Dollar Masters Tournament, the $2,000,000 first-place prize (plus $115,000 in preliminary rounds) in the 2005 Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions,[210] the $200,000 third-place prize in the 2011 Jeopardy! IBM Challenge, the $1,030,600 first-place prize in the 2014 Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades, $333,334 (one-third of the $1,000,000 first-place prize, shared with his three-player team) in the 2019 Jeopardy! All-Star Games and a $250,000 prize in the 2020 Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time tournament.
The holder of the all-time record for single-day winnings on Jeopardy! is James Holzhauer. Holzhauer first surpassed the record of $77,000, held since 2010[211] by Roger Craig, when he earned $110,914 on the episode that aired on April 9, 2019.[212] Holzhauer pushed his own single-day record to $131,127 on the episode that aired April 17, 2019,[213] by amassing $71,114 over the episode's first two rounds, then successfully wagering an additional $60,013 in the Final Jeopardy! round. Holzhauer's total of 32 consecutive games won was second place of all time in regular game play at the time and remains fourth overall after Matt Amodio and Amy Schneider surpassed Holzhauer in 2021 and 2022, respectively.[214] When he departed the show, he held the top 16 spots for highest single-day regular-game winnings and is the only player to win more than $100,000 in a single episode in regular play (achieved six times).[215] On April 15, 2019, Holzhauer moved into second place for regular play Jeopardy! winnings (behind Jennings) and third place for all Jeopardy!-related winnings (behind Rutter and Jennings). On April 23, 2019, Holzhauer joined Rutter and Jennings as the third Jeopardy!-made millionaire (Amodio eventually became the fourth). The next day, Holzhauer moved onto the top ten list for all-time American game show winnings at No. 10, joining Rutter (#1) and Jennings (#2) on that list. Holzhauer was defeated on the June 3, 2019, episode, finishing in second place.[216] His winnings on Jeopardy! totaled $2,464,216,[217] $58,484 behind Jennings' record.[216] Including over $58,000 from a 2014 appearance on The Chase,[218] with Holzhauer's $2.96 million from Jeopardy! (including his Tournament of Champions and The Greatest of All Time prizes), he is #3 on the list of all-time American game show winnings.
The record-holder among women on Jeopardy! for regular series winnings is Amy Schneider,[219] with a total of $1,382,800 earned in 40 episodes between 2021 and 2022.[220][221][214] Schneider is currently ranked second all-time in consecutive games won, behind only Jennings (74).[222][223][214] Mattea Roach, whose winning streak earned $560,983 over 23 games in April and May 2022, has been the most successful Canadian contestant to have competed on the program. Following that 23-game run, Roach ranked fifth for consecutive games won and sixth for regular play Jeopardy! winnings.[224][214]
The highest single-day winnings in a Celebrity Jeopardy! tournament was achieved by comedian Andy Richter during a first-round game of the 2009–2010 "Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational", in which he finished with $68,000 for his selected charity, the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.[225]
Four contestants on the Trebek version share the record for winning a game with the lowest amount possible, at $1. The first was U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Darryl Scott, on the episode that aired January 19, 1993.[226][227] The second was Benjamin Salisbury, on a Celebrity Jeopardy! episode that aired April 30, 1997.[228] The third was Brandi Chastain, on the Celebrity Jeopardy! episode that aired February 9, 2001.[229] The fourth was U.S. Navy Lieutenant Manny Abell, on the episode that aired October 17, 2017.[227]
The record lowest Jeopardy! score was set in 2021 by Patrick Pierce, who finished with a total of -$7,400.[230] The second lowest score was -$6,800, set by Stephanie Hull in 2015.[231] Hull's episode was also notable for featuring a rare Final Jeopardy with one contestant.[232] Joan Kantor, a contestant from 1985, is considered by some observers to be the actual lowest ever scorer, as she scored -$5,100 before dollar values had been doubled, which would have made her total -$10,200 in today's time.[230]
Other media[edit]
Portrayals and parodies[edit]
Jeopardy! has been featured in several films, television shows, and books over the years, mostly with one or more characters participating as contestants, or viewing and interacting with the game show from their own homes. The sitcoms The Golden Girls,[233] Mama's Family,[234] and Cheers are among the shows which have featured primary characters participating in a fictionalized version of the show (the latter in the episode "What Is... Cliff Clavin?").[235] The animated television shows Family Guy, The Simpsons, and Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? have done likewise, all three times with Trebek providing his own voice.[236][237] On the series The Conners, Jackie Harris plays on a fictionalized version of the show during the guest host run of Aaron Rodgers.
From 1996 to 2015, Saturday Night Live featured a recurring Celebrity Jeopardy! sketch in which Trebek, portrayed by Will Ferrell, has to deal with the exasperating ineptitude of the show's celebrity guests and the constant taunts of antagonists Sean Connery (played by Darrell Hammond) and Burt Reynolds (Norm Macdonald).[238] The show has also parodied Jeopardy! by way of the recurring sketch Black Jeopardy!, in which the host and two of the three contestants are stereotypical black Americans and the categories and clues likewise reflect black American culture. The third contestant in Black Jeopardy! provides a contrast to the others.[239]
The 1992 film White Men Can't Jump features a subplot in which Gloria Clemente (played by Rosie Perez) attempts to pass the show's auditions.[240] In the David Foster Wallace short story "Little Expressionless Animals", first published in The Paris Review and later reprinted in Wallace's collection Girl with Curious Hair, the character Julie Smith competes and wins on every Jeopardy! game for three years (a total of 700 episodes)[241] and then uses her winnings to pay for the care of her brother, who has autism.[242] American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic satirized the Art Fleming incarnation of the show with his 1984 single "I Lost on Jeopardy", a parody of Greg Kihn's 1983 hit song "Jeopardy". Released months before the Trebek version of the show, the song's accompanying music video featured a re-creation of the 1960s-era set, along with cameos from Fleming, Pardo and, at the end of the video, Kihn himself.[243]
At the DEF CON hacker conference in Las Vegas, a variant called 'Hacker Jeopardy' has been organized.[244] In 2004, it was won by Kevin Mitnick.[245]
Citations
Bibliography
Further reading