Jeopardy! spinoff Pop Culture Jeopardy! has sparked a lot of chatter after its recent debut on Amazon Prime Video.
Hosted by Saturday Night Live star Colin Jost, Pop Culture Jeopardy! seems to be getting rave reviews so far, in part because of Colins moderating skills. The comedy sketch star had some help with taking on the role of Pop Culture Jeopardy! from beloved Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings, and even his SNL family. During Colins interview with The Ringer, the comedian opened up about how is SNL training, came into play when preparing for Pop Culture Jeopardy!
One thing they told me is how when theyve had guest hosts, theyve had some that just are not as good at cold reading, Colin told the news outlet.
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Youre reading 61 clues in a game, then you suddenly have a lot of cold reading that youre doing, he added. You see everything in advance, but you still never know what order its going to pop up in.
Colin credited the Weekend Anchor skit he does with SNL co-star Michael Che with helping him be ready for the new game show.
So weirdly, a thing that prepared me very well for it was the joke swap that we do at SNL, because Im also cold-reading that, and its live, Michael added. I weirdly had confidence from being forced to do that by Michael Che. It gave me confidence: If you dont want to read a clue, I was at least not going to be in racial jeopardy.
So far, fans are loving Pop Culture Jeopardy! and are praising everything from Colin’s hosting style to the newest gameplay element Triple Play. The game, which is played in teams of three, contestants work together to use their collective knowledge of all things pop culture to win the tournament-style game.
Episode three featured nine former contestants of the flagship series, with the crossover proving that their knowledge extends beyond the classic quiz questions. The Jeopardy! vets had to answer questions in categories like “Finish the Rap Lyric,” “Fictional Brands,” and “Fashion Collabs.”
The debut season of Pop Culture Jeopardy! is going to be 40 episodes, with a total of 81 teams of three competing in the series. The tournament-style game is divided into four bracket-like rounds: knockouts, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final. Three teams will compete in the final round for a chance to win $300,000.
