‘Jeopardy’ fans not happy about clue related to ‘Wheel of Fortune’ host Ryan Seacrest on the show

The fans took issue with the clue being too tough and unnecessary for the contestants.

Screenshot showing Ken Jennings reading a clue to the contestants (Cover image source: YouTube/Jeopardy!)

“Jeopardy!” is a rival to “Wheel of Fortune” in the TV game show arena, and fans always look forward to crossovers. But sometimes they don’t appreciate it when contestants mix up the shows or when references to another show appear on “Jeopardy!” In a recent episode, a clue mentioned the newest host of Wheel of Fortune, Ryan Seacrest, under the category, “Dropouts”. While the game went on as usual, fans took to social media, calling the clue “absurd” and “unnecessary”.

Screenshot showing the three contestants from the episode (Image source: YouTube/Jeopardy!)
 

In the episode, returning champion Jason Singer was looking for his third win. He faced off against Scott Riccardi and Katy Doll, and he got off to a flyer, starting evenly with Riccardi, with their scores tied at $3,200. Then Jennings read the clue, “It was Seacrest out of this state university in 1992; that didn’t stop Ryan from getting a hosting job or 2.”

Screenshot showing the clue (Image source: TV Insider/Jeopardy!)
While the question seemed odd to the viewers, it stumped the players on the stage, who scrambled for answers. While none of them got the answer, the University of Georgia, and the game went on, viewers had a bone to pick with the show on social media.

Taking to the unoffical Reddit forum of Jeopardy! one fan going by the username @cesd3967 wrote, “Came to ask about that absurd Ryan Seacrest question too lmao like…he’s not Michael Jordan or…literally any athlete where they famously go play at a college and it’s mentioned or something lol, how in the world is anyone supposed to know where Seacrest went and if it’s a $600 question without a single hint/clue in the question?” “It’s not Seacrest’s fault the writers sometimes have a tenuous grasp on what constitutes solid material for a Jeopardy! Clue,” another user @jaysjep2 added.

Some came in defense of the Wheel’s host, explaining how the clue was justified. “I think y’all are way overthinking this. This is just throwing a bone to Jeopardy’s sister show. A lot of people watch both J! and WoF. And anyone who’s been watching Wheel since Seacrest took over will instantly know about his Georgia connection,” @tributtal explained. 

After moving on from the awkward clue, the game went smoothly with Singer and Riccardi, fighting fiercely for the win. Going into Final Jeopardy!, they were only $400 apart, as Singer led with $17,000, while Riccardi followed with $16,600.

However, Singer couldn’t make the most of him as another pop culture question stumped him, forcing him to make an incorrect guess. Meanwhile, both his competitors, Riccardi and Doll, got the correct answer, and in the end, Riccardi emerged as the day’s champion with a grand total of $17,600.

While Riccardi won, viewers in the comments of the show’s YouTube clip came out in support of Singer. “Took me half a second to get the answer to this. Definitely one of those pop culture questions that the regular people know hahaha!” @melfarm9109 wrote.