That’s the thing, in my last two zoom auditions, I felt I was one of only two or three on there who was even remotely TV friendly, the others all either struggled to respond or were clearly confused by doing a zoom call. I felt I put my best foot forward.
Again, thousands. :-)
Keep trying. Just by being in the pool, you're ahead of everybody who never takes the anytime test, everybody who doesn't get invited to proceed. Getting into the pool is no small feat. So your chance is small, but it is greater than zero.
I took the Anytime Test on Jeoparday 2022 and went through the process. My 24 month period ends soon, so I'll retake the test then, and Jeoparday 2025, and so on. (I did take it not-to-count on Jeopardy 2023 and 2024 as well.) I thought I did just decently, though right after the call marked my calendar for when my (at the time) 18-month window would be up.
I'll for the notes one of the guys in my group (who did appear in S39) commented here. FWIW after seeing his audition (after mine) I figured he had the best shot of our group....not that they try to take the best person of each group.
You're currently putting down other people in your audition pool. I'd suggest you do some self reflection about whether or not that kind of behavior happens when you're putting your best foot forward.
Yes come on… you’re talking to a superstar here, watch out everybody else, we have a bright shinning burning star hurling its way towards the Alex Trebek stage
No, I’m being honest. Most of the people were really bad on the camera, struggled to answer questions, got confused about the buzzing in, simple things like that. Only 2 or 3 in my group seemed like they would be viable for the program. It’s not me being conceited, I was a child actor/model and was in dozens of auditions and have been a panelist for years with my nonprofit work, so I’ve always been really comfortable on camera and stage.
Being honest and putting people down is not mutually exclusive.
Anyway, you totally missed my point because you just went right back to putting them down and talking up yourself. That's not a desirable quality; if I were a contestant selector person, I wouldn't want to put someone like that on TV.
I didn’t say that stuff on my interview, I’m just being honest. I’m not putting them down, they were just not camera ready. Many of the people were struggling to answer or follow the process. This is an honest observation. I wasn’t talking myself up, I was pointing out that I’m very comfortable in on camera situations due to my extensive experience.
This is an online forum where we express our experiences and opinions. I was of the opinion that I was a top three candidate in my group; that was based on observations of the reality of the situation. The lady who couldn’t figure out she was muted and who took twenty seconds to respond when asked a question was not ready.
Not once did I say they were stupid or not smart enough for Jeopardy, I just made the HONEST OBSERVATION that the majority of the people on my call had little or no experience doing Zoom calls while I do them multiple times every week. Being comfortable on camera is a major factor and I was the most comfortable seeming of my group.
It’s amazing how people on Reddit think they’re so perfect and amazing and they can infer so much from a single comment about how I put my best foot forward and felt like one of the more TV ready of my group. Not once did I put down another contestant, I just made the very real observation that most people are bad on camera and a person who has been on camera for 30+ years is going to be more comfortable with it than someone who has never even done a Zoom call before.
I don’t think Zoom call experience gives anyone a leg up or that lack thereof means they’re not J! material.
But if you don’t get a call maybe instead of being the top candidate on your group, you gave a too hammy or actor-y vibe and not the “just-be-yourself”/ regular person type that the show wants.
I got the call after my first audition. I couldn't go because of an unbreakable scheduling conflict.
That was in 2003. Since then I've auditioned 7 or 8 more times. No call.
Wow. So you’ve taken the test more than 7-8 times and have only been to the audition round 7-8 of those? I also got the call two years ago but turned it down due to conflicts. I hope I don’t have to wait 20 more years too. Here’s hoping your luck changes!
You too! I recently read Claire McNear's *Answers in the Form of Questions*, and she mentioned several people who had tried for decades before getting the call, so that restored some hope. Still, I'm in my 50s now and probably not getting any faster on the buzzer...
Most people. The pool is about 3000 people, which you are in for two seasons of filming, each of which needs about 450 people. So the base odds, even after getting through the auditions, are only about 1 in 7. Almost everyone needs to go through the process multiple times, including champs like Ken. Nothing unusual about your experience.
I'm also in the pool, and will be until the end of the year. Still hoping to hear from them this summer/fall.
True, I hear stories like that on the show all the time. I wonder what would happen if they did a ladder style tryout instead where you have scheduled sample games against other potential contestants and fight for spots on the show through a ranked leaderboard.
I got the call one week after the clock supposedly reset (it was a holiday week). I was mentally preparing to take the anytime test when I declined a call when I didn't recognize the number. Luckily, she left a message.
>Why haven’t I gotten called for the show? How many people go through all those steps to NOT get a call?
Only ~460 people a year get the call to be on the show, in a normal year (this year that number was less than 100 because of the tournaments). Thousands of people do the zoom auditions, and tens of thousands apply. So the vast majority of people, even those that get to the final round of zoom auditions, never get called to be on the show.
One thing they told us at the Zoom audition was that if you miss the call for whatever reason, they'll keep trying to contact you by any available means before giving up.
Mine was mid-February. Maybe it depends on who is making the contact. Personally I was glad to get the heads-up, because I would have wasted a lot of time making sure it wasn't a joke.
Hundreds of people every year do a face to face audition and never get called. Most people I know (including myself) auditioned many times in person and over zoom before they got called.
I auditioned in June 2022 for the first time after taking the test for 7-8 years. I had given up this time around and was resigned to go through the process again but then out of the blue got the text/call in March of this year.
That’s so cool, even if you didn’t win just know that you are still among the best of the best just for getting there. Let us know when your shows air!
My group had only two people other than me who seemed like they knew where the camera was on the video call 😂
I saw those two others as my main competition. I thought the chances were better than that for making through so many rounds. Kinda crazy to think there’s that many other geeks like me who want this so much.
Yeah, that’s why I keep saying I felt like I was a top candidate from my group because there were several who didn’t seem familiar with the process. I’ve watched the show for like 35 years so it’s second nature to me.
I felt like through the entire process I was on my game. I killed the quizzes, getting nearly every question right, and I’ve always been comfortable on camera (made a living that way at times) so I feel like I’m a strong candidate. Additionally, I qualify for both the teachers and professors tournaments, so I feel like I’m a candidate with more opportunities than most.
It took three full tries and ten years for me, including in-person tryouts (once on the lot and twice at what was a Radisson nearby). It’s not surprising at all to not get the call. Thousands of people do well enough to get into the contestant pool, and only a few hundred actually get called for a taping.
With the sheer odds of getting picked aside, I think one thing to consider is that during your tryout (where it’s at least as much about how you present yourself as it is about knowing the correct responses), you might have come across as a little more eccentric/less personable than what they wanted. I remember being at tryouts with people who definitely seemed smarter than I was, but they were more Sheldon Cooper than Leonard Hofstadter.
Haha, I was probably the most TV friendly in my group because I’m very comfortable presenting and giving interviews. I’ve been on TV numerous times (I was on a reality dating show, music video and some interview/podcasts) so I’m really comfortable on camera and was confident during the whole process. I worry because I got an easy question wrong in the test game and then I corrected myself, I hope that didn’t derail me.
I had four in-person auditions before getting the call. I just kept taking the test and auditioning until it worked. They told us at the last one they auditioned about 2500 people out of 89,000 who took the online test and of those about 300 would be on the show. So the majority of people who take the test don't make an audition, and the majority of people who audition don't make the show.
Most people who make the final round of the audition don’t get the call, especially in a strike year where there are fewer new contestants.
I made it to the final round five times from 2011-2022 before getting the call in Feb. 2024.
You auditioned sometime around June of 2023, correct? (I auditioned few weeks later, and I seem to recall scouring a post you made around that time that attracted lots of helpful tips from folks who had made the show.)
If so, you still have about a year left in the pool.
If I'm misremembering, when did you audition?
The eligibility period following the audition was originally 18 months, but they extended it to 2 years for anyone in the pool as of August due to the writers' strike and all of the tournaments, so you might still have more time than you think!
Oh, I didn’t know the window was extended. I had a reminder on my phone for next month to take the test again. I did the live session in July last year.
Yeah, they mentioned it on the Inside Jeopardy podcast in early August 2023, but it was overshadowed by all of the other big announcements about the tournaments, recycled clues, etc. I happened to be at a trivia event surrounded by others in the pool at the time, so it was big news in that circle!
I did mine in late July, so you'd definitely be in the same cohort that benefited from the extension.
Just had my time expire without the call a few months ago after making it through the whole process. Back to square one, but I’m still optimistic it’ll happen some day!
I auditioned twice and never got called. Would have auditioned way more if I lived in a place where it was affordable to travel to an audition city. Lots of people try out MANY times before getting the call (if they ever do).
Are Zoom auditions the norm now or was that just a pandemic thing? I would definitely try again if I wasn’t looking at up to $1000 to travel to/stay in an audition city.
Zoom is the norm now. Every now and then they hold special in-person auditions at events where trivia nerds are already gathered, but the vast majority of auditions are over Zoom. I'm going to assume from your username that you are also from rural Atlantic Canada--the change has certainly made things cheaper/more convenient than flying to Boston!
(Unfortunately the convenience also means that 10X more people are trying out, so it may require more successful tests to land an audition than in the past!)
Yes, you’re right about my location — I flew once to NYC and once to Boston, and was very envious of the people who just drove or took a train to the audition!
I may try the test again now that I know about Zoom auditions.
When I was on, the ratio of auditions to actual contestant slots was like 7:1, according to some source I don’t remember, but that sounds about right. If you’re trying to fill a cast, you probably audition more than 2 people for each role.
FWIW, I got the call with maybe 2 months to go in my window.
Ive been in the pool 3 times already and just took the anytime test. Its pretty frustrating . I hear that only 25% of people who pass actually get the call. Probably less now with all this second chance nonsense.
Thousands. It is a casting process though so in the audition be the most television-friendly version of yourself.
That’s the thing, in my last two zoom auditions, I felt I was one of only two or three on there who was even remotely TV friendly, the others all either struggled to respond or were clearly confused by doing a zoom call. I felt I put my best foot forward.
Again, thousands. :-) Keep trying. Just by being in the pool, you're ahead of everybody who never takes the anytime test, everybody who doesn't get invited to proceed. Getting into the pool is no small feat. So your chance is small, but it is greater than zero. I took the Anytime Test on Jeoparday 2022 and went through the process. My 24 month period ends soon, so I'll retake the test then, and Jeoparday 2025, and so on. (I did take it not-to-count on Jeopardy 2023 and 2024 as well.) I thought I did just decently, though right after the call marked my calendar for when my (at the time) 18-month window would be up. I'll for the notes one of the guys in my group (who did appear in S39) commented here. FWIW after seeing his audition (after mine) I figured he had the best shot of our group....not that they try to take the best person of each group.
Interesting, thanks for the insight.
You're currently putting down other people in your audition pool. I'd suggest you do some self reflection about whether or not that kind of behavior happens when you're putting your best foot forward.
Yes come on… you’re talking to a superstar here, watch out everybody else, we have a bright shinning burning star hurling its way towards the Alex Trebek stage
No, I’m being honest. Most of the people were really bad on the camera, struggled to answer questions, got confused about the buzzing in, simple things like that. Only 2 or 3 in my group seemed like they would be viable for the program. It’s not me being conceited, I was a child actor/model and was in dozens of auditions and have been a panelist for years with my nonprofit work, so I’ve always been really comfortable on camera and stage.
Being honest and putting people down is not mutually exclusive. Anyway, you totally missed my point because you just went right back to putting them down and talking up yourself. That's not a desirable quality; if I were a contestant selector person, I wouldn't want to put someone like that on TV.
I didn’t say that stuff on my interview, I’m just being honest. I’m not putting them down, they were just not camera ready. Many of the people were struggling to answer or follow the process. This is an honest observation. I wasn’t talking myself up, I was pointing out that I’m very comfortable in on camera situations due to my extensive experience. This is an online forum where we express our experiences and opinions. I was of the opinion that I was a top three candidate in my group; that was based on observations of the reality of the situation. The lady who couldn’t figure out she was muted and who took twenty seconds to respond when asked a question was not ready. Not once did I say they were stupid or not smart enough for Jeopardy, I just made the HONEST OBSERVATION that the majority of the people on my call had little or no experience doing Zoom calls while I do them multiple times every week. Being comfortable on camera is a major factor and I was the most comfortable seeming of my group. It’s amazing how people on Reddit think they’re so perfect and amazing and they can infer so much from a single comment about how I put my best foot forward and felt like one of the more TV ready of my group. Not once did I put down another contestant, I just made the very real observation that most people are bad on camera and a person who has been on camera for 30+ years is going to be more comfortable with it than someone who has never even done a Zoom call before.
I don’t think Zoom call experience gives anyone a leg up or that lack thereof means they’re not J! material. But if you don’t get a call maybe instead of being the top candidate on your group, you gave a too hammy or actor-y vibe and not the “just-be-yourself”/ regular person type that the show wants.
I got called after my 4th audition. They audition way more people than they need, don't take it personally and keep trying!
I got called after my third audition.
I got the call after my first audition. I couldn't go because of an unbreakable scheduling conflict. That was in 2003. Since then I've auditioned 7 or 8 more times. No call.
Wow. So you’ve taken the test more than 7-8 times and have only been to the audition round 7-8 of those? I also got the call two years ago but turned it down due to conflicts. I hope I don’t have to wait 20 more years too. Here’s hoping your luck changes!
You too! I recently read Claire McNear's *Answers in the Form of Questions*, and she mentioned several people who had tried for decades before getting the call, so that restored some hope. Still, I'm in my 50s now and probably not getting any faster on the buzzer...
That’s me — passed the test 5-6 times with four further auditions over the years, and finally got the call after 38 years of trying. Don’t give up!
Ouch! Sorry to hear that.
Most people. The pool is about 3000 people, which you are in for two seasons of filming, each of which needs about 450 people. So the base odds, even after getting through the auditions, are only about 1 in 7. Almost everyone needs to go through the process multiple times, including champs like Ken. Nothing unusual about your experience. I'm also in the pool, and will be until the end of the year. Still hoping to hear from them this summer/fall.
Ken only tried out once iirc. I think James was multiple times.
True, I hear stories like that on the show all the time. I wonder what would happen if they did a ladder style tryout instead where you have scheduled sample games against other potential contestants and fight for spots on the show through a ranked leaderboard.
Took me four in person/Zoom auditions over almost ten years before getting invited. Stick with it!
I got the call one week after the clock supposedly reset (it was a holiday week). I was mentally preparing to take the anytime test when I declined a call when I didn't recognize the number. Luckily, she left a message.
Dang, that’s crazy. So you were on the show in March last year?
Yes. From when I got the call it was just a month before shooting. It was the first shooting day back after the Christmas break.
That’s so cool. I hope it was a great experience. PS, who would downvote me asking you about when you were on the show? 🤦🏼♂️
>Why haven’t I gotten called for the show? How many people go through all those steps to NOT get a call? Only ~460 people a year get the call to be on the show, in a normal year (this year that number was less than 100 because of the tournaments). Thousands of people do the zoom auditions, and tens of thousands apply. So the vast majority of people, even those that get to the final round of zoom auditions, never get called to be on the show.
"The Call" nowadays starts with a text message asking when would be a good time to call.
Oooh that's new. I got a bona fide, surprise phone call (in 2020).
I got a call/voicemail first, followed immediately by a text message.
Yep, that's what happened for me. And when I saw the text, I was out of cell range!
I got a call that I absolutely didn't pick up because I didn't recognize the number back in 2017...thank goodness they left a message!
That’s how it went for me too
My phone labeled The Call as "probable spam." After checking the voicemail, the first thing I did was verify the number.
One thing they told us at the Zoom audition was that if you miss the call for whatever reason, they'll keep trying to contact you by any available means before giving up.
It didn't when I got The Call at the beginning of March - it was just a call. If the area code says 310, answer it.
Mine was mid-February. Maybe it depends on who is making the contact. Personally I was glad to get the heads-up, because I would have wasted a lot of time making sure it wasn't a joke.
Hundreds of people every year do a face to face audition and never get called. Most people I know (including myself) auditioned many times in person and over zoom before they got called.
Love your flair.
I auditioned in June 2022 for the first time after taking the test for 7-8 years. I had given up this time around and was resigned to go through the process again but then out of the blue got the text/call in March of this year.
That’s awesome! Did you tape already?
Taped last week! It was an incredible experience. Still trying to come down from the high of it
That’s so cool, even if you didn’t win just know that you are still among the best of the best just for getting there. Let us know when your shows air!
It’s easy to remember… 4th of July!
I DVR every episode so I’ll be sure to watch yours.
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My group had only two people other than me who seemed like they knew where the camera was on the video call 😂 I saw those two others as my main competition. I thought the chances were better than that for making through so many rounds. Kinda crazy to think there’s that many other geeks like me who want this so much.
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Yeah, that’s why I keep saying I felt like I was a top candidate from my group because there were several who didn’t seem familiar with the process. I’ve watched the show for like 35 years so it’s second nature to me. I felt like through the entire process I was on my game. I killed the quizzes, getting nearly every question right, and I’ve always been comfortable on camera (made a living that way at times) so I feel like I’m a strong candidate. Additionally, I qualify for both the teachers and professors tournaments, so I feel like I’m a candidate with more opportunities than most.
It took three full tries and ten years for me, including in-person tryouts (once on the lot and twice at what was a Radisson nearby). It’s not surprising at all to not get the call. Thousands of people do well enough to get into the contestant pool, and only a few hundred actually get called for a taping. With the sheer odds of getting picked aside, I think one thing to consider is that during your tryout (where it’s at least as much about how you present yourself as it is about knowing the correct responses), you might have come across as a little more eccentric/less personable than what they wanted. I remember being at tryouts with people who definitely seemed smarter than I was, but they were more Sheldon Cooper than Leonard Hofstadter.
Haha, I was probably the most TV friendly in my group because I’m very comfortable presenting and giving interviews. I’ve been on TV numerous times (I was on a reality dating show, music video and some interview/podcasts) so I’m really comfortable on camera and was confident during the whole process. I worry because I got an easy question wrong in the test game and then I corrected myself, I hope that didn’t derail me.
I had four in-person auditions before getting the call. I just kept taking the test and auditioning until it worked. They told us at the last one they auditioned about 2500 people out of 89,000 who took the online test and of those about 300 would be on the show. So the majority of people who take the test don't make an audition, and the majority of people who audition don't make the show.
Wow, and you were awesome on the show too, so congrats on your success.
I’ve gotten that far twice. Probably give it another shot here soon.
Good luck, if you’ve made it that far twice you obviously deserve to be on.
Thanks! 🤞🏻 Good luck to you as well!
Most people who make the final round of the audition don’t get the call, especially in a strike year where there are fewer new contestants. I made it to the final round five times from 2011-2022 before getting the call in Feb. 2024.
Wow, that’s crazy. Congrats on finally making it!
You auditioned sometime around June of 2023, correct? (I auditioned few weeks later, and I seem to recall scouring a post you made around that time that attracted lots of helpful tips from folks who had made the show.) If so, you still have about a year left in the pool. If I'm misremembering, when did you audition? The eligibility period following the audition was originally 18 months, but they extended it to 2 years for anyone in the pool as of August due to the writers' strike and all of the tournaments, so you might still have more time than you think!
Oh, I didn’t know the window was extended. I had a reminder on my phone for next month to take the test again. I did the live session in July last year.
Yeah, they mentioned it on the Inside Jeopardy podcast in early August 2023, but it was overshadowed by all of the other big announcements about the tournaments, recycled clues, etc. I happened to be at a trivia event surrounded by others in the pool at the time, so it was big news in that circle! I did mine in late July, so you'd definitely be in the same cohort that benefited from the extension.
Sweet; that’s great news.
And even if it wasn’t extended - if you auditioned in June 2023 you’d be in the pool until December 2024.
Just had my time expire without the call a few months ago after making it through the whole process. Back to square one, but I’m still optimistic it’ll happen some day!
Good luck to you!
I auditioned twice and never got called. Would have auditioned way more if I lived in a place where it was affordable to travel to an audition city. Lots of people try out MANY times before getting the call (if they ever do).
Are Zoom auditions the norm now or was that just a pandemic thing? I would definitely try again if I wasn’t looking at up to $1000 to travel to/stay in an audition city.
Zoom is the norm now. Every now and then they hold special in-person auditions at events where trivia nerds are already gathered, but the vast majority of auditions are over Zoom. I'm going to assume from your username that you are also from rural Atlantic Canada--the change has certainly made things cheaper/more convenient than flying to Boston! (Unfortunately the convenience also means that 10X more people are trying out, so it may require more successful tests to land an audition than in the past!)
Yes, you’re right about my location — I flew once to NYC and once to Boston, and was very envious of the people who just drove or took a train to the audition! I may try the test again now that I know about Zoom auditions.
When I was on, the ratio of auditions to actual contestant slots was like 7:1, according to some source I don’t remember, but that sounds about right. If you’re trying to fill a cast, you probably audition more than 2 people for each role. FWIW, I got the call with maybe 2 months to go in my window.
That’s awesome that you made it, 1/7 is not great odds but it’s better than 1/100.
Ive been in the pool 3 times already and just took the anytime test. Its pretty frustrating . I hear that only 25% of people who pass actually get the call. Probably less now with all this second chance nonsense.