The latest season of “Celebrity Jeopardy!” premiered Friday, March 13, as ABC unveiled its most ambitious tournament yet. The All-Stars edition began at 8/7c with sports host Katie Nolan and “Saturday Night Live” veteran Rachel Dratch trading the lead all night, while actor-writer Mark Duplass stayed within reach in a quarterfinal that provided excitement from the opening clue.
This fourth edition brings back 21 fan-favorite contestants from the show’s first three seasons in a bracket-style showdown that pairs returning winners with the celebrities who nearly defeated them. The tournament spans 10 episodes — six quarterfinals, three semifinals, and a final winner-takes-all episode — with $1 million awarded to the champion’s chosen charity.
Host Ken Jennings returns to oversee the All-Stars competition on the famed Alex Trebek Stage. In a season teaser, Jennings said, “Jeopardy! goes Hollywood. Our brightest stars are all back.”
The format gives a significant advantage to the show’s three reigning champions. Season 1 winner Ike Barinholtz, Season 2 champ Lisa Ann Walter, and Season 3 titleholder W. Kamau Bell are each placed directly into the semifinals, bypassing the six-game quarterfinals. The remaining 18 celebrities must battle through those preliminaries for a chance to face the seeded champions.
The list of challengers reads like a who’s who of TV and comedy: Macaulay Culkin, Ray Romano, Andy Richter, Margaret Cho, Patton Oswalt, Cynthia Nixon, and Mina Kimes are all aiming to advance. Also competing are “Gilmore Girls” actor Sean Gunn, comedian Roy Wood Jr., Robin Thede, Mo Rocca, Mira Sorvino, Tim Simons, Jackie Tohn, and Steven Weber. Notably, all three Season 2 finalists — Walter, Nolan, and Rocca — return to face each other again in this All-Stars field.
The returning champions have solid resumes. Barinholtz, 49, made history as the first celebrity to appear in the regular Tournament of Champions, winning his quarterfinal before falling in the semifinals. He most recently appeared in the critically acclaimed Apple TV+ series “The Studio.”
Walter, who won Season 2 and appears on “Abbott Elementary,” has frequently joked about what the victory means to her — even saying she’d be buried with her “Jeopardy!” trophy, calling it “my urn” and noting it’s in her will.
Bell returns as the most recent champion, having claimed the Season 3 title when its finale aired April 23, 2025. The comedian-filmmaker won $1 million for DonorsChoose, using part of the funds to fully finance outstanding classroom projects in Oakland and in Mobile, Alabama, where his father lives.
The All-Stars premiere was initially scheduled for Feb. 27, but ABC pushed it back two weeks to March 13. The network had announced the season renewal in May 2025, generating early buzz among viewers eager to see past contestants back in trivia competition.
For those curious whether celebrities get easier questions than regular players, Jennings addressed that directly. On a March 5 appearance on “Live with Kelly and Mark,” host Kelly Ripa asked if questions are simplified for celebrities. “That’s a nice way to say that. You didn’t say ‘dumbed down,'” Jennings replied with a laugh, adding that “Celebrity Jeopardy! is for real Jeopardy! Our brand is ‘smart people knowing smart stuff,’ and that’s true even if it’s the celebrity version.”
Jennings also explained why comedians often do well in the celebrity matches — Barinholtz, Walter, and Bell all come from comedy backgrounds. He noted that live-performance experience can help contestants be faster on the buzzer and less afraid of embarrassment, which are advantages under game-show pressure.
The premiere featured Quarterfinal #1, with Dratch, Duplass, and Nolan. In that match, Dratch and Nolan swapped the lead while Duplass stayed close. Upcoming quarterfinals include Culkin versus Steven Weber and Jackie Tohn on March 20, followed by Sean Gunn, Cynthia Nixon, and Roy Wood Jr. on March 27. Semifinals and the finale are set for May, with the season expected to finish on May 14.
Celebrities eliminated in the quarterfinals still receive $30,000 for their selected charities, semifinalists who don’t move on get $50,000, and the two runners-up in the finale each earn $175,000 — a change from earlier seasons when second- and third-place payouts differed.
Viewers can watch the season premiere on ABC, with episodes streaming on Hulu the following day. The bracket format promises weeks of competition as celebrities display their knowledge across diverse categories while raising money for their chosen charities.
