'Jeopardy!' Producer Slams Rumor Contestants Are Told Categories in Advance
A Jeopardy! insider shut down rumors that contestants are told the day's categories ahead of the competition.
"Just this week, somebody said 'do they tell you what categories to study'," revealed winner of the 2017 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, Buzzy Cohen.
"I don't know how that rumor got started... drives me crazy."
Cohen was speaking on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast that he co-hosts with Jeopardy! showrunner, Sarah Whitcomb Foss. She also works on the quiz show as part of 'Clue Crew,' a team who travels the world researching topics for the various category questions.
Whitcomb Foss asked: "How does it still happen? There's no study guide, people."
The co-hosts were discussing a book released by Jeopardy! alumni with tips on how to get on to the show and how to win once you make it to the famous stage.
The popular podcast also recently revealed Jeopardy! co-host Ken Jennings' favorite category.
During a March episode of the podcast, Whitcomb Foss spoke about a research trip she took to look into the professional wrestling world of WWE with her podcast producer, Carlos Martinez. "Ken loves this kind of thing," she said, referring to wrestling.
Cohen added: "I was gonna say that when we've been taping recently, people always ask Ken what his dream category is, and often he'll say, '1980s pro wrestling.'"
Jennings had told fans how much he loved 1980s pro wrestling, writing "I'm your guy" on his personal blog about his favorite quiz topic.
When he was asked in 2019 about what his ultimate category of a topic would be, Jennings told The A.V Club culture website that it "would be '80s pro wrestling. They hardly ever have '80s pro wrestling."
Jennings rose to fame in 2004 where he broke Jeopardy! records with a long winning streak. He ultimately pocketed $2.52 million.
He has also competed in Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions, and 2019's Jeopardy! All-Star Games.
Jennings became the permanent co-host of Jeopardy! alongside Mayim Bialik in 2022 after the death of the show's veteran host Alex Trebek in 2020 from pancreatic cancer.
More recently, Jennings accidentally gave fans a rare look at a crucial part of the show when he held up the Final Jeopardy! card.
One fan got a screenshot of the moment from the April 14 episode when Jennings held the card for the Final Jeopardy! round in the direction of the camera. The card featured a number of lines and tables with printed words and handwritten notes.
The fan named as Lilly on Twitter posted the photo and explained how the card worked.
We got a rare look at Ken's Final Jeopardy card tonight! This is the card where a staff member (I believe co-head writer Michele Loud) writes all the contestant wagers and possible outcomes for the host to have on hand alongside the clue and correct response," Lilly tweeted after the episode.
Another fan asked how producers could predict possible outcomes and when they would get the time to update the card.
"The contestants enter their wagers during the commercial break before Final Jeopardy starts, I believe the card is written as soon as wagers are locked in and given to the host at that time (before they read the question)," Lilly replied.
