‘Celebrity Jeopardy!’: Ken Jennings on Getting Starstruck, Picking Up Tips From Alex & More
Q&A
Celebrity Jeopardy! is nearly back as the latest season of the primetime competition picks up with the semifinals on January 2, and host Ken Jennings is pulling the curtain back on the upcoming games.
While speaking about the upcoming matches — kicking off with Utkarsh Ambudkar, Mira Sorvino, and Lisa Ann Walter — Jennings gets candid about helming the hour-long format, getting starstruck, and taking influence from former host Alex Trebek. The new full-time syndication host breaks it down for us, below.
(Credit: ABC/Eric McCandless)
What has surprised you most about hosting Celebrity Jeopardy!?
Ken Jennings: Hosting Jeopardy! at all has obviously been a learning curve for me. I’m still the new guy and luckily it’s a very tight format where you at least know where you are on the show at any given moment. That’s what people like about Jeopardy! as viewers. I think that it’s a predictable, reliable, stable part of their evening, and they know exactly how it’s going to go. And the thing about Celebrity [is], you don’t always know how it’s going to go. They’re likely to be great players, but they’re very comfortable on camera. They’re going to be having fun. They might just start chatting amongst themselves. We had Dulé Hill tap dancing. There’s a lengthy tap dancing break, which rarely happens on the syndicated show. So [it’s] a looser, anything can happen vibe on Celebrity, even though I sometimes have to be the meme substitute teacher who’s like, “Alright, why don’t you three settle down? We’re going to play a little trivia game now.”
This is a longer format show than the syndicated version. Does that allow for some extra fun as a host?
I know people who will DVR Jeopardy! and just watch weeks at a time. They’ll just binge it because they want to watch Jeopardy! for hours. The hour-long format with three rounds means there’s more Jeopardy! than usual. So the show does have a little more time to breathe. I remember watching Alex host Celebrity Jeopardy! where the players would goof around so much or tell a joke after every clue. And Alex would get a little huffy and then they’d only get halfway through the board and you’d be like, “Well, yeah, that’s what happens if you’re going to tell a joke after every clue Mr. SNL guy.” But here we have room for that and we like to keep the game moving, but we know people at home want to see the personalities of the stars and often they’re new to the show. It’s kind of Jeopardy! meets Oprah sometimes.
As you mentioned before, Alex hosted versions of Celebrity Jeopardy! in the past. Did you look at old episodes for tips or tricks on how to helm this version?
I did. I have fond memories of watching Alex host. I mean, we’ve all seen Will Ferrell host Celebrity Jeopardy! as well. But I did watch some Alex shows because I knew that Mayim [Bialik] hosted last year. I’m not a peer to the celebrities, but I realized that in Alex’s games, he didn’t play it like that either. He was just kind of the stern face of the house. He was the casino. He was not a fourth celebrity who was hanging out with them. He really was kind of a referee-like presence. And I thought I could do that.
(Credit: ABC/Eric McCandless)
You’re working with celebrity contestants in this version. Do you ever get starstruck?
I mean, I’m a Jeopardy! celebrity. You’ve got Jeopardy! celebrities and then you’ve got like Kyra Sedgwick and other actual stars like Mira Sorvino, who’s got an Oscar and she’s in the semi-finals. We have legitimate Hollywood celebrities in here, and I’m very much starstruck all the time. That’s my secret, Meaghan. I’m always starstruck, but you just realize you have to turn it off because there’s a game to play.
What’s on the horizon for the semifinals?
The big games get very intense, and you really are impressed by the players. It’s their chance to shine not just as celebrities but as Jeopardy! stars now, because you realize, oh, she grew up watching the show with her mom. She’s going to know some of these deep cuts about art or opera or whatever. Or this player says she watches every night with her husband and she’s very attuned to the strategies of the show. The games get very competitive because we love all our celebrities who agree to come on the show and are good sports about kind of a tricky ask, just winning some money for charity, but it’s a hard show. But at this level, I think you’re seeing the genuine Jeopardy talent face off and it’s as intense and competitive as any nightly syndicated show.
One of the great things about Celebrity Jeopardy! is the money goes to charity. How does it feel to know that the show is helping those in need?
Even in the syndicated show, we often hear players talking about causes they care about or how a win could really change the lives of a family member who needs a trip or whatever it is. We love those stories and Celebrity Jeopardy! is the ultimate version of that because some charity’s going to win a million dollars. Everybody’s there to play for a worthy organization, and they get to give that organization a platform on primetime for a second and talk about the good work they do.
Celebrity Jeopardy!, Returns, Tuesday, January 2, 8/7c, ABC
