I’m the kind of Jeopardy! fan that can present as being slightly bothered by the increasing number of tournaments and spinoffs being ordered, all while secretly wishing that the all-time great game show could replace at least half of what’s currently clogging up the 2026 TV schedule. We’re currently living large with not just the daily series, but also Celebrity Jeopardy! airing on ABC and Jeopardy! YouTube streaming on the titular service. I’m also patiently waiting for SNL’s Colin Jost to return as host of Pop Culture Jeopardy!
When I talked to Ken Jennings about the current season of Celebrity Jeopardy!, where he explained to me the logic behind the returning all-star approach, I asked if he thought Jost might ever pop over onto a future season of the primetime spinoff. True to form, Jennings first addressed whether that could even be possible from a rule-based perspective, saying:
That's interesting. Like for regular Jeopardy!, it's kind of assumed that I can never play again, because I have the in-person edge that comes with having hosted the show. And I wonder if that would hold for Colin Jost.
Crushing out as the winner of the GOAT tournament against James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter turned out to be Jennings’ final moment in the sun as a Jeopardy! champion, as it was latter that same year when Alex Trebek passed away, and the door was eventually opened for Jennings to take over show-leading duties. Though there was never a real reason to previously have a rule in place barring Jeopardy! hosts from competing, the game show’s new era does include that mandate.
Article continues belowHowever, it remains somewhat unclear whether or not that hosting directive extends from Ken Jennings onto the variety of others who served as guest hosts following Trebek’s death, from Aaron Rodgers to Robin Roberts to another former champ, Buzzy Cohen, who currently serves as a writer for the main series. The way the record-breaker sees it, though, it probably wouldn’t take much arm-twisting behind the scenes to convince the producers to bring Colin Jost in if he wanted to. As Jennings put it:
If Colin wanted to play, my guess is, we'd find a way to do it, and he'd probably be very good.
Blammo! We obviously can't count that as gospel just yet, since they're just Jennings' opinions and don't reflect either the show as a whole, or Jost's potential interest. However, it sounds like Jost asking about an appearance would be met with minimal blowback, if any. So how do we go about convincing him to do it? Is this a case where getting Michael Che to antagonize Jost about it on Weekend Update could successfully cause the writer/actor to agree to compete on the trivia series? It can't hurt to ask him, I guess.
Why Ken Jennings Thinks Colin Jost Could Excel At Jeopardy
Whether or not Colin Jost's Pop Culture Jeopardy! commitment makes him ineligible to try to win money for charity on the Celebrity edition, Jennings pointed out the pretty inarguable reason why he believes the Saturday Night Live mainstay would be a success. As he put it:
One thing we've noticed in all the three years we've run this is: it's been won by a comedian every time. Comedians are quick thinkers and good at making the kind of connections that Jeopardy clues often depend on.
It's a stellar bit of evidence, and even though it's obviously possible for a non-comedic contestant to win out, the first three seasons of the tournaments were conquered by those most well-known for that genre.
- Season 1 winner: Ike Barinholtz
- Season 2 winner: Lisa Ann Walter
- Season 3 winner: W. Kamau Bell
It clearly doesn't hurt to be well-versed in what makes people laugh, though Ken believes it's less about the humor and more about how comedians' brains work. That certainly tracks for Jost, as it takes a lot of quick thinking and emotional stability to keep steady with Saturday Night LIve's Weekend Update segments for so many years on end. Not that reading jokes from a teleprompter or cue cards is indicative of trivia-related genius, but it's not evidence against, either.
First thing's first: someone needs to ask Colin Jost if he does actually ever want to compete on Celebrity Jeopardy! Are there any upcoming SNL guest hosts who could do it? Should we send him a singing telegram?
New episodes of Celebrity Jeopardy! air Friday nights on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET, and stream via Hulu subscription.
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