Just three months after a 31-game winning streak cemented his status as a “Jeopardy!” superstar, Jamie Ding is trying his hand at another popular game show — this time with a Hollywood star.
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‘Jeopardy!’ great Jamie Ding comes to ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’
Ding, a law student from New Jersey who had an impressive run on “Jeopardy!” earlier this season, is now bringing his penchant for trivia to “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”
The formidable “Jeopardy!” player will compete alongside actor Ben Affleck for a shot at $1 million for the charity of their choice. The unlikely team will appear in the season’s premiere episode on Wednesday, along with “Seinfeld” creator Larry David and his daughter, scriptwriter Cazzie David, according to a TV listing. The episode airs at 7 p.m. MDT on ABC.
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The Ding-Affleck pairing on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” mirrors last season, when “Jeopardy!” host and 74-game champ Ken Jennings competed on the show with Matt Damon. The pair ended up winning $1 million — mostly due to Jennings, who seemed pretty at ease throughout the show.
“This was the least dramatic million-dollar moment in ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ history,” host Jimmy Kimmel joked, per Deseret News.
“It is so awesome having Ken Jennings as your partner in a trivia game,” Damon said with a laugh.
Ding’s appearance on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” comes as “Jeopardy!” concludes its 42nd season. On Friday, the quiz show will end a season that has seen standout players and several super-champions.
Below is the full celebrity lineup for “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” which features everything from a “Seinfeld” reunion to country superstar Brad Paisley:
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- Larry and Cazzie David
- Ding and Affleck
- Jason Alexander and Wayne Knight
- Michael Keaton and Jon Lovett
- Jesse Eisenberg and Paul Giamatti
- Billy Porter and Leslie Odom Jr.
- Awkwafina and Paul Feig
- Colin Jost and Michael Che
- Will Forte and Taran Killam
- Brad Paisley and Clayton Kershaw
- Tig Notaro and Pete Holmes
- Krysten Ritter and Sarah Shahi
- Timothy Simons and Jackie Tohn
- Michael Kosta and Wendi McLendon-Covey
- Brooks Nader and Sarah Jane Nader
- Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel
A brief overview of Jamie Ding’s ‘Jeopardy!’ run
Ding’s 31-game winning streak on “Jeopardy!” aired from mid-March to late April, and placed him at No. 5 for most consecutive wins in show history — just one game shy of tying the legendary James Holzhauer’s 32-game winning streak from 2019.
His earnings on the show — over $880,000 — also placed him at No. 5 for highest winnings in regular season play. He also cracked the show’s top 10 for all-time winnings, which includes tournament play.
Throughout his run, Ding often obliterated his competition due in part to his speed on the buzzer.
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“It’s been a wild ride but really fun,” Ding told The Detroit News shortly after his final episode aired. “People on the show told me that America’s going to love getting to know you, and I guess they were right. And the love is mutual.”
Host Jennings previously told a studio audience during a “Jeopardy!” taping that he “would be very excited” if Ding beat his record, as the Deseret News reported.
“I’m of course perfectly impartial every game, but I actually believe that my record can be beaten,” he said in a clip shared on the official “Jeopardy!” Instagram. “I just hope I am hosting when it happens.”
Jennings’ record — a staggering 74 games — remains untouched nearly 22 years later. Amy Schneider holds the No. 2 spot with 40 wins; Matt Amodio is third with a 38-game winning streak; and Holzhauer has 32 straight victories to his name.
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