The legendary quiz show Jeopardy is a beast that works in semi-mysterious ways, with thrilling highs and lows coming from Ken Jennings and his podium of prudent judgment. Now, with the 2024 TV schedule providing the second round of the ongoing variant Jeopardy Masters, that keen eye was put to the test with contestants that the former champion and now host has tangled against on the field of battle.
However, before you think that Mr. Jennings also hangs out with folks like Jeopardy champion Amy Schneider, think again. In fact, I’m surprised that I hadn’t thought about this before, but that just isn’t allowed to happen. I learned this at New York Comic-Con 2024, during the panel “Who Is Amy Schneider?,” where she talked about her time on the show as well as the recently released paperback version of her memoir In the Form of a Question: The Joys and Rewards of a Curious Life.
Moderated by famed New York columnist Michael Musto, it was his comedic prowess that led to poking around the subject of whether or not Ms. Schneider and Mr. Jennings are palling around in piano bars. But as I observed the answer to this question, on behalf of CinemaBlend, I was kind of taken aback that the following no-brainer bylaw prohibiting that somehow escaped me:
We’ve had good times, but good times on stage winning money. We don’t interact very much all beyond what you see on camera. But I really, you know, I feel like we did hit it off and it’s just the fact that he can’t. I mean, he’s barred from having any outside interactions with any contestants, or potential contestants. … So it’s like at some point, I’m going to officially retire from Jeopardy, and then we’ll be friends.
Now, while I’m not sure there’s an official rule book out in the wild, I am not shocked at all that this stipulation Amy Schneider has revealed is in play. I mean, could you imagine how much harder Ken Jennings’ Jeopardy clue controversies would hit if people thought there was even a chance that Jeopardy’s host was playing favorites?
More importantly, just imagine if Ken and his frenemy James Holzhauer were allowed to openly communicate in the real world? I’d imagine that scenario playing out as a way less severe version of the adversarial relationship between 007 and Ernst Stavro Blofeld from the James Bond movies. But on the other side of this, I kind of need to see what Ken Jennings and Amy Schneider would be like in a situation where they’re just hanging out as friends.
That’s something that could happen sooner rather than later, at least if those rumors of Colin Jost being suggested as a Jeopardy host are true. While I’d hate to see Ken leaving a post that even I, an initially skeptical viewer, have warmed to, that does mean that he and Amy Schneider could be able to hang out a lot sooner without her needing to retire.
Should this happen, I think ABC and Sony Television will need to have a serious conversation, as there’s bound to be a good pitch for a reality series/documentary following these two and their growing friendship. Ken Jennings could get real about the pressures of succeeding the late Alex Trebek, and we can learn more about Amy Schneider’s defense of Ken’s hosting duties. And all the while they can stump each other with general knowledge trivia, and maybe hit a piano bar or two.
At the moment Ken Jennings is still very much the host of Jeopardy, and you can see him holding court with questions and quips in syndication. Meanwhile, you can now purchase Amy Schneider’s memoir In the Form of a Question in paperback, with the middle-grade version entitled Who Is Amy Schneider?: Questions on Growing Up, Being Curious, and Winning It Big on Jeopardy! being set to debut on shelves in March 2025.