More than 378,000 questions have been asked to more than 12,000 contestants and more than $100 million has been given away in prize money. The most honored quiz show in the history of television (winner of 29 Daytime Emmy Awards) recently launched its 28th season and to celebrate, Sony has opened the Jeopardy! Hall of Fame, a museum of memorabilia and magical moments.
“Jeopardy! is a part of people’s lives every day across the country and I’m so glad that we can pay tribute to the show’s overwhelming success and share that with visitors to Sony Pictures here in Culver City,” said Steve Mosko, president of Sony Pictures Television. “They’ve done a great job celebrating the show in a fun and entertaining way and I hope everyone will come by to see it.”
More than 40,000 visitors are expected to visit the Jeopardy! Hall of Fame each year.
Asked to explain the success and popularity of the show, executive producer Harry Friedman said that it is “reliable but not predictable.” He added that there is something in each show that everyone can answer.
The show recently held a teachers’ tournament and this year will bring back one of its most popular formats – the power players tournament, which features celebrities and media personalities, competing on behalf of their favorite charities.
The show’s ever-present host, Alex Trebek, is re-energized for another season at the podium. He answered a question on everyone’s minds by telling the News that his favorite category is geography. He also said that his favorite destination category was the Galapagos Islands. His most embarrassing moments, he admitted, is when he accidentally reads the solution to the puzzle (which is to say the question, rather than the answer – that is the contestants’ job to guess). When that happens, he said, he apologizes and keeps going. It doesn’t happen often. But approaching 30 years as the host of this iconic TV show, Trebek continues to keep going strong.
