What is… we’ve seen these celebs on the Alex Trebek Stage before? The premiere of Celebrity Jeopardy!: All-Stars kicked off on March 13 with the first three celebrities playing for charity.
Twenty-one celebrities, many of whom have played Jeopardy! before, are battling it out again to try to win $1 million for their chosen charity in Season 4. The competition will consist of six quarterfinal games, followed by three semi-final games against the previous winners — Ike Barinholtz, Lisa Ann Walter, and W. Kamau Bell, with the winners from the six quarterfinal games. The three winners from those games will then go on to the finals.
Kicking off the season are Rachel Dratch, Katie Nolan, and Mark Duplass. Nolan was a finalist in Season 2. Duplass didn’t make it past the quarterfinals in Season 2. Dratch was also on the same season and made it to the semi-finals. WARNING: This post contains spoilers for the March 13 episode of Celebrity Jeopardy!.
“Over the past three seasons, we’ve seen some exceptional gameplay from our past contestants, and now 21 of the best are back to compete,” host Ken Jennings said.
The celebrities play three rounds of Jeopardy! compared to two in the normal game. Nolan had the lead by the first 15 clues with $1,800.
Dratch found the Daily Double on clue 17. She had $1,500 and wagered $300 in “World History Quiz.” The clue read, “After making the mistake of shaking up with the wrong beekcake, she became the last ruler of the Ptolemaic Dynasty in Egypt.”
“I don’t know. Who is Cleopatra?” Dratch answered. That was the right answer, and she moved to $1,800, tying with Nolan.
The rest of the round was a fight for first place between Nolan and Dratch. Dratch wound up in first place with $3,200. Nolan had $2,800. Duplass ended in third place with $700.
In Double Jeopardy, Dratch found the first DD on clue 10. In the lead with $5,800, she wagered $1,500 in “We’re Blinding You With Science.” The clue was “Sounding a bit like dinnerware, they’re the components of blood that gang up together to form clots.”
Running her hands through her hair, Dratch said, “Uh oh!” At the last second, she got, “What are platelets?” giving her $7,300.
She then found the next DD on the following clue. In “Help a Poet Out,” she wagered $2,000. The clue read, “She wrote the immortal ‘because I could not stop for death- he kindly stopped for me.’”
“Who is Emily Dickinson?” the SNL alum answered correctly. This gave her $9,300.
After the commercial break, Nolan shared that she was so excited to meet Jeopardy! alums Sam Buttrey and Andrew He before the game. “Being here is, truly, my favorite thing on earth,” she told Jennings.
At the end of the round, Dratch had the lead of $10,900. Nolan was in second place with $8,000. Duplass ended with $4,500.
Triple Jeopardy, a round unique to the celebrity version, had Duplass finding the DD on clue one. He wagered all of his money in “Award Speeches. Who Said It?” The clue was “At the 2023 Golden Globes: ‘Mike White, you’ve given me a new beginning, even if this is the end – because you did kill me off.”
“Who is Jennifer Coolidge?” The Morning Show star answered correctly. This moved him to second place with $9,000.
Nolan found the next DD on clue five in “Translate the Common Phrase.” She had $8,900 and wagered $5,000. The clue was “It’s not a good idea to criticize or translate a novel based on the look of its dust jacket.”
“What is ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover?” she answered correctly. That put her in the lead with $13,900. Dratch had $13,300.
Dratch found the DD in “Presidential Roast.” She had $16,900 and wagered $3,000. The clue was “You’re no. 2! No, really, you’re the face of the $2 bill… that’s how much your country thinks of you.”
“Who is Theodore Roosevelt?” she guessed. The correct response was Thomas Jefferson, so Dratch dropped down to $13,900.
By the end of the final round, Nolan had a comeback win with $21,700. Dratch was in second place with $15,400. Duplass had $13,200.
“Look at these scores. Wow!” Jennings said.
The category for Final Jeopardy was “Animals.” The clue was “the genus name of this animal is phascolarcotos, meaning ‘pouched bear.’”
Duplass’ response was “What is the kangaroo?” He was wrong and wagered all of his money, ending with $0. Dratch wrote, “What is an opossum?” which was also wrong. She wagered $9,101, giving her $6,299. Nolan has the correct response of “What is koala?” She wagered $9,101, making her final total $30,801.
Nolan advanced to the semi-finals. Dratch and Duplass took home $30,000 for their charities. Tune in next week for three more alums in another quarterfinals game.
Celebrity Jeopardy!: All-Stars, Fridays, 8/7c, ABC, stream next day on Hulu