Pop Culture Jeopardy

⭐ 10/10

A godsend! Jess and I randomly stumbled into this one night and instantly fell in love. We both love trivia, and I used to watch tons of Jeopardy as a kid. This is basically easier Jeopardy with modern questions that we knew a ton of answers to! Hosted by Colin Jost, who is great, this is strangely 3 teams of three. Not sure why, maybe just a chance to get more people involved, but it also means tons of the questions are being answered, which makes it fun. Over the course of the tournament we both grew attached to certain teams, hated other teams, and when the playoffs began we were legit tense every Final Jeopardy! There were crazy comebacks, insane wagers, wild Daily Doubles that either propelled people to victory or completely sunk them. A very fun show, and we are sadder that it is over than I think I have ever been.

Something I need answered is some of the wagering strategies. I get the general idea, but there were unexplainable bets that costed teams wins in several key rounds, and no spoiler but the championship comes down to this as well! I also think the third place team always made the wrong bet, and in many cases betting 0 could have won them the game, and was their only opportunity to do so! I am no Jeopardy scholar, but as I said I used to watch and I understand the game theory a bit, so I was shocked that all these Jeopardy-loving contestants would make such clear mistakes.

Again, Colin is a great host, genuinely funny at times, and made watching the team interviews bearable. Quick on his feet, lots of wit, I was impressed with how smooth he was. I'd like to think I'd be okay at something like this having hosted trivia a time or two, but man that's why these guys are on TV.

The Triple Play is a fun addition to the game, but so difficult, not sure if I like the specific rules it involved. This was a really fun 40-something episodes that we absolutely tore through, and it felt good to be engaged, occasionally pausing so we could talk through an answer. Collaborative games are best for our relationship, and this was absolute perfection! It also inspired some categories you might see in my New Year's trivia this year...