The newest star of Jeopardy! had fans biting their nails on Monday night when the hit quiz show returned for the season 42 premiere. Jonathan Hugendubler, who famously pulled off a shocking win against 16-time champion Scott Ricardi on the finale of season 41 in July, faced off against Human Resources Specialist Caroline Paul and urban planner Josh Jackson upon the show's return. The music professor almost lost to the pair on the night, before making an incredible comeback to win $40,000.
Jonathan fell behind Caroline and Josh from the start, as the pair battled it out for the top spot. Thankfully, he was redeemed on Daily Double 2, and managed to go into Final Jeopardy with $29,800. His opponents trailed behind, with Caroline bringing $7,200, and Josh just $5,200. He risked it all in the Final Jeopardy! wager, gambling with $10,000.
The Baltimore native then went on to win the night, securing a two-game victory that will see him return to our screens on Tuesday to battle it out against two more hopefuls. Jonathan opened up about his unexpected victory against Scott in an interview with Towson University, after the reigning champ had racked up 16 wins and a whopping $455,000 in prize money.
"The whole experience was pretty surreal," Jonathan told the publication. "If you watch the show or the Instagram clip, you can see my shock when I realized I won." The academic, who is a local trivia host in his spare time, explained that he studied for 20 hours a week ahead of Monday night's appearance. "I memorized facts about so many reality shows I will never actually watch," he said, adding that he did the show's entrance test 10 times before being accepted into the next round.
Jeopardy! will be available on streaming services for the first time ever beginning from season 42, in a move set to bring in even more viewers. "Having new episodes of Jeopardy! available on streaming for the first time is a huge milestone in the history of our program, and we look forward to welcoming a new audience on these platforms," said Suzanne Prete, president of game shows for Sony Pictures Television.
"We want to celebrate that leap forward while also making sure our viewers know that if they watch Jeopardy! on their local station, they will continue to be able to do so. Our affiliate and owned station partners around the country remain essential to the show's success."
The series already brings in roughly seven million viewers each night. The show's host, Ken Jennings, previously explained to Deseret News that the popularity of Jeopardy! is down to the fact that it has the perfect game show formula.
"I love that the show is such a stalwart," he said. "Tonight's episode of Jeopardy! almost down to the second will be the same as an episode of Jeopardy! from 1995 or 1985. They got it right the first time. And there's just not a lot that's like that in our culture, that never dumbed down or sped up."