‘Jeopardy!’ Question About Katherine McPhee Stumps Even Her

On a recent episode of Jeopardy, the contestants all failed to guess a clue about Katharine McPhee. As Entertainment Weekly noted, McPhee weighed in on the moment herself via Instagram. But, even the Smash star had some trouble with it. 

The clue was a part of the “Before & After” category and, as it was worth $2,000, it was the hardest one in the bunch. The $2,000 clue read, “Spooky HBO show with references to H.P.’s works, with Katharine McPhee along as the singing nanny.” It proved to be exactly that hard for the contestants, which included champion Amy Schneider, as none of them guessed correctly. In fact, none of them buzzed in at all to wager a guess. The answer was Lovecraft Country Comfort, and McPhee herself stated on Instagram that she wouldn’t have gotten it right. 

McPhee posted a clip from the episode that featured the clue. According to her, the contestants shouldn’t beat themselves up too much over not getting it right, as she wouldn’t have either. The actor wrote, “I wouldn’t have even gotten this” along with a laughing emoji. She shared a similar message on her Instagram Story, writing, “Definitely would have missed this one.”

The clue came in the midst of Schneider’s historic Jeopardy winning streak. She ended up winning that episode to secure her 37th win. Later, she broke a record for the second-longest winning streak in Jeopardy history that was set by Matt Amodio, who played earlier in the same season. Schneider now only stands behind Ken Jennings, who achieved the record for the longest winning streak (with 74 games) in 2004. Throughout her time in the competition, Schneider has achieved numerous milestones, as she holds the record for being the highest-earning woman, has achieved the second-highest total number of wins, and became the first transgender contestant to earn a spot in the Tournament of Champions.

Alas, her streak came to an end on Wednesday. After winning 40 straight games, she lost to Rhone Talsma, a Chicago librarian. There’s no doubt that she’s walking away happy about her time on the quiz show, as she amassed $1,382,800 during her time on Jeopardy. As previously mentioned, viewers will next see her in the Tournament of Champions, where she is set to face off against Amodio.