I guess I'm not going to be on Jeopardy

A closer look at the mysterious contestant selection process

Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures Television

I really thought I was going to be a contestant on Jeopardy.

But alas, my 18-month window of eligibility has come to a close. Did you know that you have 18 months of eligibility to be on the show once you’ve passed your test? No, most people don’t know that. There is definitely a shroud of mystery about the process of being on the show. I thought it’d be fun to share my experience to shine some light on the situation.

Why am I even talking about this? To toot my own horn to let you all know how smart I am? No, if you’ve been reading this for a while, you already know how smart I am! I kid. But the process of becoming a Jeopardy contestant is actually pretty interesting. And the way the show has changed in the last few years with the pandemic and the death of Alex Trebek is worth noting.

So let’s dive into the steps I took, along with a timeline of events.

Step 1 - The First Test - January 2020

Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures Television

The first step in the process of becoming a contestant on Jeopardy is to take the online test.

This test is free and open for anyone to take. If you’re a regular Jeopardy viewer, you’ve likely seem commercials telling people when the test will be taking place. The test period used to happen just once or twice each year. Potential contestants had to be vigilant to not miss their opportunity. These days, they offer an ongoing test that you can take at any time that suits you, which doesn’t seem as exciting as the seasonal window.

All you have to do is give some basic information and choose a window of time to take the test. There are typically a few consecutive days with various time slots to accommodate a variety of time zones and schedules.

Contestants need to log on to the Jeopardy server at their selected time and are presented with 50 categories and 50 clues, and you have just 15 seconds to respond to each clue. The total test takes approximately 13 minutes. Your spelling doesn’t need to be perfect, but the judge will have to be able to read an interpret the response.

The clues aren’t the most difficult and they touch on a huge variety of topics. It’s a pretty good overall indicator of your intelligence. And the 15 second timer makes it difficult to do any research.

Perhaps the most vexing part of the whole quiz is that you aren’t told how many answers you got correct. So at the end of the test you’re just left alone with your thoughts. Wishing and hoping that you got enough correct to move onto the next round.

Rumor has it that about 35 correct answers (70%) is enough to pass. But of course, the Jeopardy show team will not confirm or deny that. Again, this whole process is a bit mysterious. And even if you score enough to pass, it’s rumored to be a random selection from the passing scores who get asked to move on.

I probably took about six of these online tests over the years. I never received a follow-up email about next steps until the last test I passed in January of 2020.

Step 2 - Another Test - August 2020

Illustration Courtesy of Lifewire

Yep, if you are one of the select few, you will be asked to take another test. They need to make sure that the first one was no fluke!

I received an email to schedule a time for a second test to take place via Zoom. In this instance, you will need to be on camera to confirm that you’re a real human and you’re not cheating. The format is very similar to the previous test except for one thing.

Each clue is actually read aloud by one of the Jeopardy staff members rather than just posted on screen during the previous test. And I found that the clues were a bit more difficult than the previous version of the test.

And then you’re told that someone will contact you in a few weeks if you are moving on in the Jeopardy process. No word on how many answers you got right during the second test. As you can see, there is a lot of waiting and blind faith in this journey to become a Jeopardy contestant.

Step 3 - The Interview/Practice Game - October 2020

Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures Television

Lo and behold! A week later I received an email telling me that I had passed the “in-person” test! But they didn’t mention my score and they just said that they would “be in touch” with no clear timeline.

Two months later, I received another email congratulating me for being selected for the next step of the process. Now I would need to schedule a time for an interview/audition along with a practice game of Jeopardy against other potential contestants. I need to fill out a waiver form that had all my info. And I had to present them with a professional looking head shot. This is TV after all, not every contestant needs to be a beauty king or queen, but they want to see what they’ll be working with.

It’s worth noting here that this is in the height of the pandemic. Jeopardy was scrambling to figure out a safe way to resume recording new episodes in-person. In previous years, this would be when the show invites people to physically make the trip to Los Angeles (on their own dime) to audition for the show.

I was actually really excited to make this journey. I knew it was a possibility and I had joked with my wife about dropping everything and heading to LA for a few days whenever I got “the call.”

But the show decided to keep this next step virtual in an effort to stay safe. The audition and practice game would take place via Zoom. And from everything I’ve read, it seems like this will be an ongoing thing for Jeopardy contestants. The “At Home” audition seems to be easier for everyone. Although it’s a little sad to deprive a large pool of people the opportunity to see the studio in-person.

The other thing that was working in my favor was that at the time they were only inviting contestants who lived in the state of California! Just like that, I had eliminated the competition from 49 other states (and you know they invite Canadians once in a while just so Alex could make some Canuck references for them).

It seems a little silly in retrospect, but they thought it was less of a COVID risk to not allow out of state contestants. It would eliminate a lot of air travel and possible virus spreading. But there are still plenty of people in California to spread a virus, so who knows? CDC-approved or not, I felt like everything was going in my favor.

When my audition day rolled around, I made sure to have the house to myself. I triple checked that my internet connection was stable and set up shop at my wife’s fancy desk to look more professional. I couldn’t take chances being the weird guy at his stand-up desk in the backyard, too many variables out there.

I do remember it being one of those super-warm Bay Area October days. Our house felt like a sauna, I was sweating as if I was actually in the studio under the bright lights. But I calmed down and did really well in my opinion.

The Jeopardy staff members were super nice and welcoming. I think I answered my interview questions in ways that let my personality shine through without making me seem like a distraction. They really want people who will just blend in. The host is the star of Jeopardy, not the contestants.

The practice game was so much fun. I think I only got one question incorrect but I answered plenty of them correctly. They say that it’s not about being the smartest one in the practice game, it’s just understanding how the game works and not stalling or being too nervous. I’d say I passed all the tests. It wasn’t as exciting as traveling to the studio in-person but it was still a memorable afternoon.

Step 4 - Studying & The Waiting Game

Image Courtesy of Caleb Compton

After my audition and practice game I started practicing and studying like crazy.

What did practicing mean? Well yeah I obviously watched several episodes of Jeopardy every night (I always had dozens saved to the DVR) but I was taking it more seriously now. That meant that I watched with a thick clicking pen in my hand to best mimic the use of the actual “signaling device” (yes, that is the proper name).

Image Courtesy of Penguin Random House

I also picked up two books that were extremely helpful in different ways. First was “Prisoner of Trebekistan” by Bob Harris. Bob is a comic turned Jeopardy enthusiast who spent years trying to get on the show and then made several appearances over a decade of tournaments. He also helped demystify a bit of the audition process to make it less nerve wracking. He’s also a gifted comedic writer who recognizes just how absurd the Jeopardy phenomena is.

This book only exists in ratty paperback form and blurry online photos. My used copy on Amazon was not easy to find. It hasn’t been in print since the early 90s

Second was “Secrets of the Jeopardy Champions” by Chuck Forrest. Forrest was one of the early successful contestants on Jeopardy and he puts together a ton of helpful information to study in this book. It wasn’t nearly as entertaining as the Harris book, but I still appreciated it as a bedside companion for several months.

Step 5 - Acceptance

Illustration Courtesy of Joe Lennon

Less than three weeks after my audition, Alex Trebek passed away. Like many people, I was really torn up about this. Yes, Trebek had been in my life since I first started watching Jeopardy when I was maybe six or seven years old. He felt like part of the family. It was a huge loss.

But now I had an even more selfish connection. We all knew that this would likely be Alex’s last year hosting the show. I didn’t think he’d agree to start the season if doctors didn’t think there was a strong likelihood that he’d make it through to the summer. I thought the stars had aligned for me to be a contestant on Alex Trebek’s final season as the host of Jeopardy. It felt meant to be! The pandemic wasn’t going to get in the way, but cancer doesn’t abide by any rules or pay attention to anyone’s schedule.

So obviously the Jeopardy world was turned upside down really quickly. They had to scramble to figure out their plan in a post-Alex world. And I never heard from the Jeopardy staff again. They say that once you audition successfully, you’re entered into the pool of players for 18 months. That means that they will randomly select contestants from that pool as needed and your name could come up for 18 months.

My audition was at the end of October 2020. That means that my eligibility window ended in May 2022. I kinda knew that in the back of my head but I never actually did the math until now. It wouldn’t feel final if I didn’t count.

Technically, I can get back on the horse and start the whole process again at any time. I’ll probably take another test soon, but I really feel like I missed my best opportunity. Don’t get me wrong, I’d still love to be on Jeopardy someday, but it’s just not going to be the same feeling without Alex there.

Conclusion

Photo Courtesy of The Ringer

I really haven’t watched much Jeopardy since Fall 2020. It was hard watching shows without Alex. It just didn’t feel the same. And I am a fan of Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik, it’s nothing against their skills as hosts. It’s just the perfect storm of being so close to being a contestant and losing Alex in one fell swoop that makes it hard to continue being as dedicated of a fan as I used to be.

I also had the sinking feeling that they wouldn’t have me as a contestant just because I share the same last name as Ken Jennings. There is no relation (that I’m aware of) and I oddly enough was on a brief call with Ken and his podcast partner John Roderick back in 2018 when we did a sponsorship on their “Omnibus” Podcast. He seemed like a really nice guy and I’m rooting for him as host.

If you’re still reading to the end of this story, thanks for following along on my journey. Hopefully you found this interesting if you’ve ever watched Jeopardy and wondered about the contest selection process. It was a surreal experience for me during pandemic times when I didn’t have a whole lot else to do besides watch Jeopardy and read books. Not a bad combination to pass the time.

One final note. My Jeopardy experience inspired me to audition for a new Netflix gameshow called Bullsh*t also in the fall of 2020. Let’s just say I wasn’t as upset when I didn’t get that callback. I’ve never watched the show but this review probably says it all. And you can’t possibly compare Howie Mandel to Alex Trebek. But I can look back at the fall of 2020 as my season of unsuccessful game show auditions.

Any other Jeopardy fans out there? Have you ever auditioned for a game show?

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Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!

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