Celebrity Jeopardy! is an American game show that consists of 13-episode tournaments - each played by 27 celebrities.[1] Their winnings in the tournaments are donated to a charity of their choice.
Unlike previous iterations of "Celebrity Jeopardy!", which were special editions of Jeopardy!, Celebrity Jeopardy! is a separate entity, airing in a different time slot while regular episodes of Jeopardy! continue to air as normal.[2] The series premiered on September 25, 2022 on ABC[3] with Mayim Bialik as the host.[4] In May 2023, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on September 27, 2023, with Ken Jennings replacing Bialik as host.[5][6] In November 2023, it was announced that the second part of the second season would resume on Tuesday nights starting January 2, 2024.[7] In May 2024, the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered on January 8, 2025.[8]
Format
The series consists of a bracket tournament with three rounds. Twenty-seven contestants compete in nine quarterfinal games, the winners of which advance to three semifinal games. The winners of each semifinal game advance to the finals, whose winner receives a $1,000,000 grand prize for their chosen charity, an entry into the Tournament of Champions and the title of "Celebrity Jeopardy! Champion".[9] Contestants eliminated in the quarterfinals earned $30,000 for their charities, while those eliminated in the semifinals earned $50,000. Third place in the finals earned $100,000, while second place earned $250,000.[10]
Gameplay
The structure of each episode is similar to the regular Jeopardy! show, with clues based on 1984–2001 clue values. The "Jeopardy!" round is played with clues ranging from $100 to $500, with one Daily Double hidden among them, allowing whoever selects it to wager some or all of their score on the clue. It is followed by the "Double Jeopardy!" round, where clue values are doubled and there are two hidden Daily Double clues.
Celebrity Jeopardy! games include a third "Triple Jeopardy!" round, similar to international one-hour versions of the game. Clue values are tripled, resulting in $300 to $1,500 with three Daily Doubles.[9] Typically, one category in the third round (usually the sixth) in season 1 is played with a champion presenting clues. Buzzy Cohen (episode 1), Austin Rogers (episode 2), current host Ken Jennings (episode 3), Ryan Long (episode 5), Brad Rutter (episode 6), Matt Amodio (episode 8), Colby Burnett (episode 9), Mattea Roach (episode 10), Amy Schneider (episode 12), and James Holzhauer (episode 13) have presented categories.
"Final Jeopardy!" is played after the third round, where traditional rules for celebrity tournaments apply (players with $0 or negative money are given an amount to participate; $1,000 in season one, $500 from season two onwards). Contestants will first receive the category, then wager any amount from $0 to their current score. They then receive the clue and must write their response in 30 seconds. Players' wagers are added to their score if they were correct, and subtracted if they were incorrect. The player with the highest score at the end of "Final Jeopardy!" wins the game.
Starting from season 2, viewers can be able to view the scores for each player (except for the first and final clue of each round), as well as highlighting the player's chosen category.
Contestants
Season 1 (2022–23)
A total of 27 contestants competed in the season. Known contestants are listed here in the order of their initial episode and with the charities they are playing for.
A total of 27 contestants competed in the season.[13][14] Known contestants are listed here in the order of their initial episode and with the charities they are playing for.
Dates listed are the original air dates of the respective episodes. Contestants are listed top-to-bottom based on their left-to-right podium positions on that episode.
Season 1 (2022–23)
During the first season, each batch of three quarterfinal matches was followed immediately by a semifinal with the three winners. The winner was invited to the Season 40 Tournament of Champions in March 2024.
For the second season, all quarterfinal matches aired consecutively, followed by the semifinals and finals.[16] Matches did not necessarily air in production order.[17]
The premiere episode of Celebrity Jeopardy! averaged 4.03 million viewers, placing 33rd for the week, 22nd among non-sports programs and second among ABC's non-sports programs.[19]
Season 1
Viewership and ratings per episode of Celebrity Jeopardy!
