During a recent “Jeopardy!” taping, host Ken Jennings got the chance to reflect on his college days at BYU — specifically the period of time when he was roommates with bestselling fantasy author Brandon Sanderson.
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Ken Jennings on being roommates with Brandon Sanderson
As the “Jeopardy!” host, Jennings regularly interacts with the studio audience throughout filming.
A video shared on the official “Jeopardy!” Instagram page shows Jennings smiling and laughing as someone in the audience brings up his longtime friendship with Sanderson.
“With your college roommate having just signed a big Apple TV deal, can we look forward to you making any other debuts?” the audience member asked.
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Jennings and Sanderson were roommates at Brigham Young University in 2000 — four years before Jennings’ legendary 74-game winning streak on “Jeopardy!” and five years before Sanderson would get a manuscript published, the Deseret News previously reported.
During the recent “Jeopardy!” taping, Jennings recalled how the author worked as a night shift desk clerk at a hotel near their house — “which I guess leaves you lots of time to write 1,200-page novels with 78 characters in them,” he said.
Sanderson would come home from work in the morning and read aloud passages from his new material as Jennings and their other roommates made breakfast.
“Well, at least I’m not the nerdiest guy in the apartment for a change,” Jennings recalled thinking at the time. “That was very nice.”
Jennings — who described Sanderson as “one of the biggest names in epic fantasy” — had high praise for his college roommate, who lives in American Fork, Utah.
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“He’s done very well,” the “Jeopardy!” host said. “I learned last time I was in Salt Lake City … he now has a plane. Brandon doesn’t fly commercial anymore. That’s how many books that guy has sold. So I’m also the second most successful person in the apartment.”
Sanderson signed a deal with Apple TV earlier this year and said he was feeling “confident,” as the Deseret News reported. This past February, he said the goal was to adapt his “Mistborn” novel as a feature-length movie and the “Stormlight Archive” series as a streaming TV series.
“I’m going to be deeply involved,” the author said.
Other ‘Jeopardy!’ moments with Ken Jennings and Brandon Sanderson
The friendship between Jennings and Sanderson has come up before on “Jeopardy!”
During a game in 2023, Sanderson was the answer to a clue that asked for the prolific author who finished “The Wheel of Time” series.
“Wow, I guess just about anybody can get in a ‘Jeopardy!’ clue nowadays,” Jennings shared on X following the game, per the Deseret News.
But Sanderson wanted the last word.
“Don’t worry, Ken,” he responded. “Maybe one day you’ll be famous enough to be a Jeopardy! clue.”
Don’t worry, Ken. Maybe one day you’ll be famous enough to be a Jeopardy! clue. https://t.co/Xy3D2OuFba
— Brandon Sanderson (@BrandSanderson) February 1, 2023
Jennings also recounts his time with Sanderson in his 2011 book “Maphead” — which came up nine years later when he beat out Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer to win the “Jeopardy!” Greatest of All Time tournament.
“A big congratulations to @KenJennings, my old college housemate, on his win tonight!” Sanderson wrote on X. “Most people know him for game show appearances, but he’s a great writer as well. I suggest his book Maphead, if you are interested.”
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“Oh sure, recommend the book you appear in!” Jennings responded.