'Jeopardy' fans point out Ken Jennings's mistake — left surprised as producers didn't fix it
One had to pay attention to catch the error, and the show has a lot of fans like that.
Oct. 13 2025, Published 11:45 a.m. ET
Ken Jennings has been the star player and then a host on "Jeopardy!," and that's why he knows the rules of the game better than most. Fans don't expect him to make mistakes, and Jennings has lived up to their expectations. For this reason, they were even more shocked when the host made a mistake. Fans were further shocked by the fact that the showrunners did not edit the error out or re-shoot the scene.
The show is not aired live. Rather, it is pre-taped and then televised on later dates. So, the showrunner would have had the time to review the footage and make sure that there was no mistake in the final cut. It happened in the episode that saw champion TJ Fisher play against Kate Kostelnik and Brian Dixon. Ahead of Final Jeopardy, Fisher had a commanding lead with $21,200 in the purse.
He was gunning to become a three-day champion, and he did achieve that feat. The Final Jeopardy clue read, “The star of this new streaming drama said, ‘Nobody could gain a pound, lose a pound…we had to look exactly the same for seven months.’” Kostelnik and Dixon were tied for second place with $3,000 each, while the reigning champion had a comfortable lead. However, nobody was able to give the correct answer.
Kostelnik had not wagered any money, so she was left with $3,000. Dixon went all in and lost whatever money he had. Fisher had only wagered $165, which meant that he became the three-day champion. His three-day total was $59,924. Jennings made his mistake after he announced that, and one really had to be paying attention to pick it up. The host said that the contestant would come back to become a three-day champion, and not four.
“TJ will be back tomorrow for a third win. We’ll see you then,” he said, even though the contestant would be playing for a fourth win next. Fans of the show were surprised to see this, as per TV Insider, and made their feelings known on Reddit. “I knew Ken goofed. I'm surprised they didn't catch that. It happens,” one fan commented.
“I am so excited because I just caught an error on Jeopardy for the first time! At the end, Ken said that tomorrow we will watch TJ go for a third win, but it will actually be his attempt at a fourth. I feel so eagle-eyed and very impressed with myself,” quipped another. “My wife was shocked that the crew didn't catch it and have Ken do a retake,” one more viewer pointed out.
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