‘Jeopardy!’ Surprise as Ex-Champions Compete on ‘Pop Culture Jeopardy!’

The full trailer for the brand-new, streaming-only spinoff was released on Wednesday (November 20). Host Jost joked around with the contestants, who are divided into teams of three. Viewers got a good look at the studio and set, and new categories were also revealed, including “TV by Episode Titles,” “Famous Because the Internet,” “Sad Girl Summer,” and more. Plus, fans finally saw many of the 81 teams.

One team in the trailer included Mackenzie Jones (center), an eight-day champion who earned $204,808 in 2020 and most recently competed in the 2024 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament. She was joined by Jessica Babbitt, a three-day champion who earned $71,568 that same year and also won $60,000 on The Chase, and Elise Nussbaum, a three-day champion who earned $79,600 in 2019.

An eagle-eyed fan took to the Jeopardy! reddit forum pointing out the inclusion, titling the post, “Jeopardy! Champ Mackenzie Jones will be on Pop Culture Jeopardy! ( What is a Jeopardy Double Dipper?).”

Other fans shared their surprise and many predicted the team could be the early frontrunner to win the $300,000 grand prize.

“Is that 3-time champ Elise Nussbaum to her right? The one on her left looks familiar too,” one fan replied.

“On her left is 3-time champ Jessica Babbitt,” wrote another.

“I recognized Elise and Mackenzie! Now I see it is Jessica. I’m excited to see all of the returning J! Alumni!” wrote a third.

“I know that she had mentioned in her anecdote when she came back to play in the Jeopardy Invitational Tournament that to make her confident, she would just say random reality TV stars even if she didn’t know,” remarked a fourth. Hope all that training pays off!”

“Omg yes i want this group to win. Love all 3 of them,” wrote a fifth.

A sixth was more critical and felt this was an advantage, “That’s so cool that instead of giving other teams who performed incredibly well in the auditions a chance to appear on a show they may otherwise never have a shot at being on, they allowed teams of multiple time Jeopardy! winners on! So cool!”

To which another fan argued back, “There are quite a few Jeopardy! Alum in the pop culture tournament.”

An additional fan wrote, “Ayy didn’t notice them. Somehow. Also thought I saw Sam Kavanaugh.”

“Nice! Mackenzie is one of my favorite female Jeopardy! champions, also a fan of both Elise and Jessica. Hope they do very well in Pop Culture Jeopardy!” wrote one more.

When Pop Culture Jeopardy! was announced in May, the quiz show made it clear on their website FAQ that former contestants were encouraged to audition. A section of the FAQ reads, “Can I still apply for Pop Culture Jeopardy! if I have already been on Jeopardy! or am scheduled to appear on Jeopardy!? Yes.”

It’s unclear how many other alumnus will be on the spinoff or if there will be other full teams of former champs.

Meanwhile, Pop Culture Jeopardy! is a 40-episode season releasing three new episodes each Wednesday. The spinoff will feature a tournament structure and has the same gameplay format as the nightly show. But it introduces a new twist to the franchise—a hidden feature on the game board called a Triple Play. The full format is explained here.

There are three big differences, format aside. The first is that it’s the first version of Jeopardy! to be exclusively on streaming instead of cable. In addition, there are three teams of three all huddled around large new podiums instead of single contestants (so nine players on stage at once). The players are allowed to consult one another on Daily Doubles and Final Jeopardy, but not regular clues. And, most obviously, the material will all be pop culture based.

What do you think of the team of Jeopardy! giants joining Pop Culture Jeopardy!? Are you excited for the spinoff? Let us know in the comments section below!

Pop Culture Jeopardy!, Series Premiere, December 4, Amazon Prime