By David Mack, CNN
(CNN) — The head of this long-running, beloved quiz show with a perilous name is currently drowning under a sea of applications to join its staff and help devise clues, famously written as answers. If you answered, “What is ‘Jeopardy!’?” you might just be what the show is looking for.
Earlier this month, for the first time in the history of the popular game show, “Jeopardy!” opened its hiring process to the public at large, inviting anyone willing and able to be its next writer to apply – as long as they can pass a rigorous recruitment process befitting a TV show synonymous with some of the smartest people in the country.
“Our ‘Jeopardy!’ writers are not only brilliant, but they also write prolifically, and so we needed to put candidates under that same test of writing quite a lot,” said Michael Davies, the show’s executive producer, in his first interview about the hunt for the next staff member.
The “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to join the show’s team of nine writers only arose because one of them, Jim Rhine, decided to retire after three decades with the series. Davies, a veteran producer who brought “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” to American TV screens, said quiz shows typically recruit from within their insular worlds or via referrals about specific topic specialists – until now. “This is a different process than we have ever used before,” Davies said. “We’ve never advertised for a writing job. The number of applications has been staggering.”
When the role was first posted online, it generated a slew of news stories that also undoubtedly led to an increase in the number of candidates. With the July 10 application deadline passed, Davies said that he’s still yet to tally the final number of candidates, but estimates it could be as high as 1,000, all of which he and senior staff will need to begin sorting through. “I don’t think we expected this much of a response, and we’ve got to figure out the process,” he said.
The job listing noted that the new hire will be responsible for writing an average of eight categories each week (all sourced according to the show’s rigorous standards, meaning no use of artificial intelligence or Wikipedia), devising last-minute replacement clues on taping days and providing quick research during filming to assist with judging during game play. The role, which is based out of the Sony Pictures Entertainment studio lot in Culver City, California, has a potential salary of up to $172,000.
To apply, candidates first had to complete the same online test as prospective contestants, which involves answering 50 clues, before also submitting 12 written samples of potential “Jeopardy!” and “Double Jeopardy!” rounds (covering categories like history and geography, but also pop culture and famous people) that each contained five questions, were titled as they saw fit and provided sources to back up facts. Then, they had to pen three samples of the notoriously difficult “Final Jeopardy!” clue. Oh, and a cover letter and resume, of course.
Davies said that as he sorts through the writing samples – which he will do without knowing who wrote what, to make the process fair – he’s looking for more than just facts and figures. To him,