JEOPARDY! fans have been left stunned after multi-day champ, Steven Olsen, lost his winning streak, and a former TV actor tested his luck at the podium.

After having four consecutive wins under his belt, Steven was dethroned by a new competitor, Vickie Talvola.

 

A woman on Jeopardy! with $26,400.

New Jeopardy! contestant Vickie Talvola dethroned the show’s former champ Steven Olson on Thursday night’s episodeCredit: ABC

A man on Jeopardy! in a brown sweater vest.

Fans were also shocked to see former actor Erik Nielsen compete and nab second placeCredit: ABC

A male contestant wearing glasses, a black suit, and a pink, white, and black striped tie on Jeopardy.

Steven previously won four games straight before coming in third place on the latest episodeCredit: ABC

Steven, a band director from Princeton, Illinois, has been the one to beat the last week, securing $74,382 in winnings.

Vickie, a quantitative trader from Jersey City, New Jersey, made her Jeopardy! debut on Thursday night’s episode, alongside Erik Nielsen, a substitute teacher from Hollywood, California.

Steven kicked off the game with a strong start, raking in $4,200 by the show’s first break.

However, Vickie and Erik quickly caught up to the trivia whiz, and the latter appeared confident she could take the whole game and bet it all on the Daily Double 3.

 

Her instincts were right on the money, as she ended up running away with $26,400, versus Erik’s $12,700 and Steven’s $6,400.

Vickie again blew away the competition during Final Jeopardy!, as she was the only one who answered the clue correctly.

After wagering just $7, she improved her winnings to $26,407.

This was the highest earnings of the game, compared to Erik’s $12,500 and Steven’s just $1.

 

Viewers weren’t only captivated by the player’s trivia knowledge, but also by how familiar one of the contestants looked.

In a Reddit thread, fans concluded that Erik was, in fact, the same person who portrayed Garrett Lambert from the comedy sitcom, Community.

“I thought Erik looked and sounded familiar, and then I recognized him from Community,” one person pointed out.

“Is nobody freaking out that that was THE Garett from Community looking and sounding identical!” another said.

Erik had a recurring role on Community as a student at the fictional college throughout the show’s six-year run.

The NBC series premiered in September 2009 and ended in June 2015.

 

Jeopardy! Set Secrets

 

Jeopardy! fans don’t see everything behind the scenes from watching on TV. These hidden set features make the show run smoothly:

  • Each podium has a hidden riser so that all contestants appear to be the same height.
  • After each clue is read, signal lights go off around the game board, indicating players can buzz in and respond.
  • Buzz in too early, and you’re locked out for .25 seconds.
  • The podiums have a small white light in the lower left corner, which tells Ken Jennings who goes next.
  • Contrary to popular belief, the player with control doesn’t have a buzzer advantage on the next clue.
  • To the game board’s left is a scoreboard so the players can see their opponents’ scores.
  • All contestants must bring three outfits to the studio, but only the host and returning champion change for the next episode.
  • There are wardrobe rules, including restrictions on busy patterns, solid white, purple (like the background), and logos.
  • Five episodes are taped in a single day, and sometimes more.
  • The categories, players (aside from the returning champion), and Final Jeopardy! for a tape day are all drawn randomly to ensure fairness.
  • Female contestants are asked not to wear makeup, which is applied backstage, and don’t wear mascara because of sweat.
  • Contestants fill out a questionnaire, and producers select five Q&A topics for the host.
  • Host Ken isn’t allowed to interact with the contestants until after the game.
  • Players can request to sit in a chair while competing without question.

Its main cast included Joel McHale, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Donald Glover, Jim Rash, Chevy Chase, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Ken Jeong.

Jeopardy!’s new champ, Vickie, will return to the podium and vie for a second-straight win on Friday.

Before Vicki’s victory, the contestants who had multi-day wins for Season 42 were Steven, Paolo Pasco, Ian Morrison, and Jonathan Hugendubler.

Three contestants, Steven, Erik, and Vickie, stand behind podiums on the game show Jeopardy!

Vickie secured her win in the end after being the only contestant to answer Final Jeopardy! correctlyCredit: ABC

A woman wearing glasses and a pink blazer smiles with $26,407 displayed in front of her on Jeopardy!

Vickie will return to the podium on Friday to play against two new competitorsCredit: ABC