Peril

The saga begins.

Let’s not bury the lede:

I was recently a contestant on Jeopardy!. This was the culmination of 23 years of occasional effort, and I’ll be on this Friday, June 12.

I’ve been watching J! regularly since at least 1998. I had seen it occasionally before then of course, but I started making a real effort to watch it when I was living in Iowa. As I was making dinner each day I would put J! on the crappy TV in the next room and turn the sound up all the way, so I could hear Alex over the sounds of the faucet and the frying pans and whatnot.

The first time I auditioned for the show was in early 2003, and I actually got the call to be a contestant that October. Alas, I had a business trip and couldn’t go. I kept auditioning every chance I got, usually once a year or so. I did in-person auditions in Atlanta (twice), Charlotte, Lexington, and maybe somewhere else that I’m forgetting. When the process moved online I gratefully kept taking the test when I could, always hoping to get The Call.

In late March 2026 my wife’s school put on a play. I attended with my son, and just as the lights were going down I saw that there was a voicemail on my phone. Probably a spammer, of course. I forgot about it.

The next day I was in the shower when I received a text from someone identifying herself as “Laura from Jeopardy!” She mentioned that she’d called the day before, and I called her back immediately.

Long story short, I taped in mid-April, and that’s about all I’m permitted to say for now. If you’re not a regular watcher, you can find the show’s station and timeslot in your area here.