I have wanted to compete on Jeopardy! for years. I mean actually take the test, survive the audition process, walk onto the Alex Trebek Stage and discover whether all those random facts rattling around in my head are useful when there is a buzzer in my hand and I’m competing on one of the greatest TV game shows of all time. So when host Ken Jennings, who also happens to be one of the game’s biggest winners, started handing out advice to prospective contestants, I paid attention.
The longtime champion turned host recently joined ARC Seattle as Jeopardy! Season 43 began it’s premiere on the 2026 TV schedule, his fifth season behind the lectern, and was asked what people should keep in mind if they finally make it onto the show. His answer was considerably down to earth and less about what you should study a head of your appearance. Jennings said:
I really think the best advice for Jeopardy! is you have to try to enjoy it. People get hung up on the outcome of their game. [They’re like,] ‘How am I going to do?’ They get nervous, and really, there’s a lot about Jeopardy! you can’t control. But you can control having a good time.
That sounds obvious until I imagine myself standing behind one of those podiums. I would absolutely be the contestant internally calculating whether I had embarrassed my family because I could not remember the capital of Slovenia while simultaneously forgetting how buttons work. Jennings, who knows a little something about performing under those lights after his record 74-game winning streak, thinks that tension can become its own problem. He added:
You can take a breath, relax, just try to enjoy being on the Alex Trebek stage. And I think people who do that, they tend to relax, they tend to play better. Those are the players who do well.
That may be easier advice to give than to follow, but it makes sense. By the time you are standing on that stage, you already cleared several hurdles just to get there. Panicking because you might lose only burns time you could spend appreciating the extremely weird fact that you are finally playing Jeopardy!.
Getting on Jeopardy! can take some persistence, with some contestants trying out as many times before being selected to compete. The current contestant process starts with the Anytime Test, which gives applicants 15 seconds each to answer 50 clues. Passing does not automatically land you an audition. Applicants enter a random selection process, and even contestants who do well in the subsequent audition can remain in the contestant pool for up to 24 months without ever getting called.
Recent contestant Mark Ramirez revealed that he spent years taking the test and went through four auditions before finally getting his shot on the show. When he eventually made it behind the podium this month, he won his first game with $20,800.
That alone makes Jennings’ advice hit differently. Imagine trying for years, finally receiving the call, and then spending your entire taping terrified that one bad Daily Double will ruin the experience. I would probably need someone backstage reminding me to unclench my jaw.
Season 43 is now underway, with new episodes airing in syndication and streaming the following day for folks with a Peacock plan or Hulu subscription. As for whether I will ever actually take my own advice and make a serious run at the Anytime Test, that remains to be seen.
But if I eventually make it onto the Alex Trebek Stage and completely whiff on a category about 18th-century opera, I am going to try to remember Jennings’ point. Breathe. Enjoy it.
