Ken Jennings says Jeopardy!’s Adriana Harmeyer plays ‘exactly’ like he did on the show, but gives a stern warning

DANGER! host Ken Jennings revealed that Adriana Harmeyer plays exactly like he did as a competitor – and gave her a warning for the future.

Adriana has been crushing the competition so far with a 14-day winning streak.

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The West Virginia native spoke with Ken about his conservative strategy in a postgame clip broadcast on Inside Jeopardy! podcast.

“After 11 wins, do you feel like you might be a little underconfident in terms of temperament?” Ken asked.

“Do you feel like you might be selling yourself as a Jeopardy champion!?”

“I think I just want to keep going,” Adriana said. “So I’m trying not to…”

“Big swings?” Ken asked.

“Yes, I’m trying not to make mistakes, so I’d rather be a little careful,” she said.

Ken said Adriana’s playing style reminds him of her 74-game streak on Jeopardy! in 2004, where she also played more traditionally.

“That’s exactly how I played,” said the TV star.

“But today we have the generation of moneyball players,” he admitted, implying that times have changed and she can find someone more aggressive.

Adriana focused on an old-fashioned way of playing as a rare top-down player who refuses to hunt for Daily Doubles.

She previously revealed that she “likes to know what the category means” before “getting into the nitty-gritty of the tracks.”

She has been advancing in the competition since her debut on May 31 and is now the first Super Champion of Season 40.

It has been almost two years since there has been a 10+ day winner, the previous one being 13 day champion Ray LaLonde in January 2023.

Adriana now has the longest winning streak since 21-day champion Cris Pannullo in the fall of 2022.

She only found 14 of the 39 hidden clues during her streak, allowing other contestants to try to find the Daily Doubles and lose them with large bets.

Danger! Host timeline

Danger! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts following the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are every host since the game show’s inception in 1964.

Art Fleming – from 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.

Alex Trebek – From 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted the modern iteration of Jeopardy! for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.

Guest Hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested a series of guest hosts for one- or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton and Aaron Rodgers.

Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for a week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.

Mayim Bialik – 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.

Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the winningest contestant of all time) joined Mayim as guest host and they shared hosting duties.

Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a long hiatus, having defended the writers’ strike, and Ken was named sole host.

Ken now runs all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the late night show and other primetime specials such as Masters.

The archivist relies on her buzzer speed and impressive knowledge, getting an astonishing 305 clues right and 11/15 on Final Jeopardy.

Adriana recently criticized Appalachian stereotypes surrounding education and the skills she faces.

“They’re wrong, like, they’re completely wrong,” she said The Parthenon on Monday.

“I personally don’t see any reason to let things stop me.”

She added that she “doesn’t like” watching herself on the show, which is filmed in pre-recorded episodes, but does so to keep up with what’s being broadcast.

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