There was a time when Jeopardy! was just another hit quiz show, not one that’s so revered that any changes to gameplay get examined with microscopic scrutiny. For instance, in the late ’90s, there was Rock & Roll Jeopardy!, hosted by Jeff Probst, of all people. Ten years ago, there was Sports Jeopardy!, hosted by Dan Patrick. Now, a pop-culture-centric version of the quiz show is streaming on Prime Video, with Colin Jost as the host.
Opening Shot: “Introducing Pop Culture Jeopardy! A new version of Jeopardy! that tests a very different kind of knowledge,” intones venerable Jeopardy! announcer Johnny Gilbert.
The Gist: Pop Culture Jeopardy! is a new version of the long-running quiz show, only with all answer-question combos revolving around pop culture. SNL vet Colin Jost is the host of the series, and instead of three individual contestants, like on the main series, each episode pits three teams of three against each other. And, just like at your local bar trivia night, the teams have clever names; in the first episode, for instance, the team names are Queen City Kidz, Pop Queens and Oops! We Guessed It Again.
The game is played for points instead of dollars; the winners of each knockout round, which is where we start play, goes to the quarterfinals. The team that wins the tournament gets a $300,000 prize.
Game play is mostly the same as in the original show, though the questions are about all sorts of pop culture, from viral YouTube videos to social media happenings to TV, movies and music from the last 30 or so years. Any member of a team of three can buzz in to provide a question to the answer on screen, but if they get it wrong, the entire team is locked out.
As usual, there is one Daily Double in the first round and two in the Double Jeopardy second round, and Final Jeopardy is the same as before. A new wrinkle is that each round has a “Triple Play” clue. The answer has three questions for the team that picks it to guess; each will award the points the answer is worth; however points will be taken away for a wrong answer, and the question becomes up for grabs.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? It would be easy to say that Pop Culture Jeopardy! is like its parent show, which has been on for 40 years in its current run. But the show reminds us more of Rock & Roll Jeopardy!, which ran on VH1 from 1998-2001 and was hosted by Jeff Probst (yes, that Jeff Probst). Speaking of VH1, let’s pour one out for The World Series of Pop Culture, the Pat Kiernan-hosted marvel that ran for two seasons in the mid-Aughts.
Our Take: Having Colin Jost hosting a pop culture version of Jeopardy! means that the show won’t be nearly as buttoned-up as the parent show. That’s saying a lot, because under the executive producing regime of Michael Davies — and with Ken Jennings as host — the parent show is certainly looser than it ever was when the late Alex Trebek presided over it.
Jost slides in pretty comfortably into the host role, making funny asides as if he’s sitting at the Weekend Update desk. He actually has shown for years that he’s quick on his feet, which he also showed when he was a surfing correspondent for NBC’s Olympics coverage this past summer. (Luckily, there are no coral reefs on this set.) He pairs well with the funny-named teams of contestants, who are also encouraged to keep things somewhat loose.
The questions are still challenging, especially to people who might not be closely attuned to viral online content. We were definitely flummoxed by some of the viral video categories, but was able to easily navigate most of the others. We were thoroughly amused by a category where the 96-year-old Gilbert reads lines from movies, with the teams trying to guess which movie the line is from. He does a good job, but listening to him read those lines, as well as the silly team names, is semi-intentionally the funniest part of the first episode.
We’re not sure what the teams of three provide the show, other than a bit more of a bar trivia vibe. Then again, it’s also not a bad idea to shake the format up a bit; it’s a pop culture trivia contest, after all, so there’s no need to stick to the rigid format that Jeopardy! has had for decades. We’re even OK with the “Triple Play” question, which is the only one that takes real advantage of the presence of the three-member teams.
Sex and Skin: None. This is a show the whole family can watch.
Parting Shot: After Final Jeopardy, one team goes to the quarterfinals.
Sleeper Star: We love how game Johnny Gilbert is, and his voice is as strong as it was when he started on Jeopardy! 40 years ago, when he was a relatively young 56.
Most Pilot-y Line: When someone from the Queen City Kidz tells Jost that they’re from the Canadian city of Regina, Colin gives the tired gag that “I don’t think you can say that… even on streaming,” because it rhymes with certain female body part. That’s third-grade stuff, like making jokes about the planet Uranus.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Pop Culture Jeopardy! is a fun watch, with Colin Jost a natural at the hosting podium. It may not make Jeopardy purists happy, but casual fans will certainly like the show, because at least there’s a good chance they’ll be able to provide questions to most of the answers.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.