I have a hard time picking out a more joyous time of year than one in which at least three different versions of Jeopardy! are part of the yearly TV schedule. This week marks the game show’s triple eclipse, where the flagship show and both of its spinoffs are airing daily (with ESPN Jeopardy! on the horizon). Sadly, Celebrity Jeopardy!’s fourth season and its cast of returning all-stars are going away soon, but with a new season already locked in for ABC’s fall lineup.
When I talked to Ken Jennings about this latest celeb-filled season, I had to ask if he had any Hollywood GOATs that he’d want to see holding a buzzer in the future, and I kinda need both of his answers to show up now, because they’re great choices. As the host put it:
There's a lot of smart people that I don't know if we would ever talk into doing it. Like, and this is just going off vibes, Amy Poehler seems super-smart. Donald Glover seems incredibly smart. Would these people ever do Celebrity Jeopardy!? Unclear, but you know, if they're listening: Open invite, anytime.
Ken Jennings
Now that it's been said, let's amplify that out to the rest of the universe: "Hey, Donald Glover and Amy Poehler! Agree to be on Celebrity Jeopardy! in Season 5 or 6 or something! Please make Ken's wishes come true!"
That's probably enough. Although if neither the Community vet nor the Parks and Recreation vet are set to compete in the new season this fall, I will assume everyone else out there wasn't giving it their all. Or maybe this psychic helmet I bought from that guy's refurbished school bus isn't actually a psychic helmet at all.
In any case, I also think that both Glover and Poehler would do well on Celebrity Jeopardy! The latter likes to poke fun at herself on her podcast Good Hang, but most comedians are self-deprecating in that way. And to that end, the first three celebrity champions have all been comedic performers —Ike Barinholtz, Lisa Ann Walter and W. Kamau Bell. Ipso facto, both of them should just agree to be on there already. It's been like two paragraphs and nothing yet?
Ken Jennings spoke to the idea that because celebrities aren't usually put in positions where there's a chance for failure, simply agreeing to be a Jeopardy! contestant takes a certain amount of courage.
Any celeb is brave to come on because, you know, I'm sure they're rationally worried about 'But what if I get something wrong? What if I don't look good? What if there's a viral clip?' And so the fact that all these people come on and play their best, and make a ton of money for charity, I admire the heck out of all of them.
Ken Jennings
If the categories and clues on Celebrity Jeopardy! were on the same level of difficulty as the mothership, I could understand being hesitant to get on board, even with charity involved. But the spinoff definitely works on a bell curve in that respect, making it slightly easier to build up bigger paydays across the three rounds of play. Maybe it would help if Donald Glover could play in character as Childish Gambino. Whatever the case, have they agreed yet? Still no, huh? Sigh.
The final week of Celebrity Jeopardy!, wrapping on May 15, airs nightly on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET, with episodes streaming the next day via Hulu subscription and Disney+ subscription. Pop Culture Jeopardy! Is also available to stream daily for a glorious four-week stretch via Netflix subscription.
