Michigan Man to Appear on ‘Jeopardy’ Tonight

A Michigan man is slated to appear on the TV game show 'Jeopardy' starting tonight. But will Ben Scripps appear on more than one episode of the popular trivia show? We won't know until tonight. Jeopardy airs locally on WNEM TV-5 weeknights at 7 pm.

Make fun of me for being old all you want -- 'Jeopardy is must-see TV in my house!

The Cadillac man flew to Los Angeles in early March to compete on the show, one of the last few tapings before Jeopardy ceased production due to coronavirus concerns. Scripps tells the Cadillac News that he thoroughly enjoyed being on the show.

“I knew this for a fact,‘ he said. “It was easily the most fun I've ever had in my life.‘

Every year, about 80,000 take the Jeopardy test. There are 50 questions, and you have about 15 seconds to answer each one. Of those 80,000, about 2,500 are chosen to participate in an audition.

SEE ALSO:  Alex Trebek Gets Emotional After Final Jeopardy Question is Dedicated to Him

Scripps says he's taken the Jeopardy test every year for the last 10 or 12 years and got the call to audition in August of last year.

During the audition phase, contestants play a mock game and participate in an interview.

“You try to be a friendly, outgoing and fun person but not too over the top,‘ he said. “At the same time you don’t want to be sullen. They don’t tell you what they are looking for, just that they want to find out what kind of person you are. Fortunately it turned out that I was what they were looking for."

Last year, a West Michigan woman won over $120,000 on Jeopardy.