Wednesday night’s “Jeopardy!” spoiled its results before the competition even began.
As host Mayim Bialik congratulated the finalists in the High School Reunion Tournament and announced how the competition would progress after the match, the game show cut to the contestants with their final financial tallies showing.
Jackson Jones’ winning $24,000, Justin Bolsen’s $13,570 and Maya Wright’s $3,370 proved to be their final totals at the end of the episode. The finalists in the High School Reunion tournament still have another game to go to determine the winner, combining the two total scores.
The High School Reunion Tournament began Monday, Feb. 20, featuring 27 “alumni” teen competitors who have previously been on the game show. The three alumni champions are left competing for $100,000 and a spot in the Tournament of Champions.
You can watch the glitch above at the top of this post. It remains on an unofficial YouTube account.
The gaffe played as a potential spoiler for a typically outsized audience, with “Jeopardy!” ranking as the top syndicated show on TV.
Bialik and Ken Jennings Jennings officially signed on to split hosting duties for Season 39 of the game show in July 2022. The pair had already been doing so for Season 38 temporarily as the Sony quiz show searched for a permanent replacement for the late Alex Trebek.
Mike Richards initially became the series’ first choice after multiple guests rotated into and out of the role to try out, but he was quickly ousted due to the resurfacing of a gender discrimination lawsuit from his stint on “The Price Is Right” as well as misogynistic comments he made on a podcast he co-hosted called “The Randumb Show.”
Richards’ taking Trebek’s mantle was announced in August 2021 just 15 months after he had been named its executive producer.