DANGER! contestant Isaac Hirsch scored a surprising seventh victory on Thursday night as fans noticed a sign that he will be the show’s next super champion.
The champion from Burbank, California, faced Liz McKenna of South Plainfield, New Jersey, and Robert Voyles of Lindenhurst, New York.
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After two non-escapes, some fans were worried that the well-dressed Isaac would lose his edge.
These fears were quelled after Jeopardy! round, with Isaac ahead with $6,400 (and a Daily Double), Robert with $1,000, and Liz with $0.
In Double Jeopardy!, Liz found the remaining Daily Doubles, winning $2,000 and losing the same amount in the other.
Isaac, meanwhile, had 27 total correct answers and seven incorrect ones, winning $18,400, Robert $5,800 for Robert and $1,200 for Liz.
Ken Jennings presented Final Jeopardy in the “Countries of the World” category.
It said: “Until 1991 this country, which takes its name from a river, had a capital whose name means “lakes” in Portuguese.
Only Isaac got it right with “Nigeria”, crowning an impressive victory (minus the seven misses).
He added $1,600 to finish with $20,000 and a seven-day total of $161,388.
‘SUPER CHAMPION?’ SIGN
Fans took to Reddit, where many focused on the final category pattern, “Countries of the World.”
Many have pointed out that this category bodes well, as it only appears when players have great winning streaks.
“FJ’s last five appearances in COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD were today, the ToC, Stephen Webb’s race, Ray Lalonde’s race and Cris Pannullo’s race!” one fan wrote.
“I know it’s completely random, but now it seems like a joke to put COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD in the FJ category! whenever a super champion is playing,” wrote another.
Other fans joked that positive connotations aside, the category name is hilariously redundant.
“I’ve always wondered why the category is called COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD instead of just COUNTRIES. I think we can assume they are part of the world without being told that,” wrote a third.
A fourth explained that the specificity was: “So you won’t expect a country that’s not of this world.”
“Jeopardy is ahead of its time; we’ll soon have additional countries on other planets; they’re just covering the bases… too smart for reruns in 2087,” chimed in a fifth.
Other fans have speculated that Isaac may now be the favorite for the upcoming Tournament of Champions given how well he is playing.
So far, the other qualifiers are former Survivor Drew Basile (7 wins), Adriana Harmeyer (15 wins), Alison Betts (5 wins) and Dr. Amy Hummel (5 wins), and Lisa Ann Walter from Celebrity Jeopardy!
With four wins, Grant DeYoung and Amar Kakirde are also likely to participate.
DRESS FOR SUCCESS
Isaac arrived in last Wednesday’s episode and is suddenly entering Drew/Adriana territory with the third major sequence in just a month.
He turned heads with his eye-catching wardrobe choices that offer 70s menswear.
“That current champion looks like a 70s porn star,” one Facebook user recently scoffed.
“I think Isaac arrived at Studio 54 after recording that show,” scoffed another.
In an Instagram post, Isaac dismissed his fashion haters, writing: “The Internet is divided on my love for 70s menswear.
“Good news for the haters: I’m almost out of wardrobe-approved vintage shirts. So if I keep winning, the attacks will get a lot more subdued.”
He also shared, “I went into this with little confidence – as a local sub, I watched seven games being filmed before recording.”
STAND-UP GUY
Meanwhile, Isaac has won over fans with his hilarious Q&A stories – no surprise since he’s a former stand-up comic.
During his fourth win, he recalled a recent fitness journey that left his figure “exactly the same” after “bulking up and gaining 30 pounds.”
During his third win, he shared that not himself, but his car had a cameo on the TV show Brooklyn 99.
During his second victory, he drew laughs when he recalled how “ironically” he was crowned high school homecoming king.
“Protect Isaac at all costs as he is so effortlessly funny,” praised another Instagram user recently.
“I don’t remember any contestant having so many funny and/or charming anecdotes.”
That being said, Isaac’s gameplay is no joke. He shot 197, 30 errors in clues overall, 11/13 in Daily Doubles, and 7/9 in Final Jeopardy – all very good stats.
REVENGE YOUR FATHER
Isaac appeared during his first victory with a Q&A story revealing that his father appeared on Jeopardy! – and lost – 30 years ago.
“My dad was on Jeopardy! in the 80s and one of the first years Alex hosted, and he lost,” Isaac said.
“I used to tease him about it as a kid. Like ‘I Lost On Jeopardy!’ from Weird Al, being like, ‘It’s about you, dad!’”
Ken started laughing as Isaac concluded, “So today we’re going to find out how real karma is.”
Danger! shared a video of the story on Instagram, and Isaac’s father, Steven, chimed in in the comments section, demanding a second chance.
“If Ken Jennings keeps mentioning that I lost on Jeopardy, I want another chance! Bring me back for another chance to win!” Steve wrote.
YOUR GAME SHOW STORY
Isaac is also no stranger to the game show circuit, in addition to the stand-up comedy circuit.
In 2023, he won $140,000 on the ABC game show The Chase, defeating Chaser and nine-day Jeopardy! champion Buzzy Cohen.
In 2017, Isaac also appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, winning $5,000 after getting the $20,000 question wrong.
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, 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.
Isaac will look for his eighth win in Friday’s episode, giving him the second longest winning streak of the entire season.
Danger! airs at 7pm ET – check your local listings.
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