Jeopardy! contestant breaks the record for lowest score in the show's history


One Jeopardy! contestant just made a little bit of history on the show, though not quite in the way he would have hoped.
On Monday's episode of Jeopardy!, contestant Patrick Pearce ended the game with a score of -$7,400, which broke the record for the lowest score in the history of the show, according to Entertainment Weekly. The previous record was a score of -$6,800 earned by Stephanie Hull in 2015.
"Imagine doing something that you've wanted to do your entire life and then it turning into that and you know you're going to be on national TV, so you're basically trying desperately not to cry," Hull previously told Slate. "That's kind of where I was."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Pearce wasn't quite as deep in the hole at the end of the show's first round, at that point having a score of -$200. But as the game continued, he lost $2,000 on a Daily Double wager and more on some high-dollar clues, ending up unable to participate in Final Jeopardy! due to his negative score.
This unfortunate new record came during LeVar Burton's first episode as Jeopardy! guest host. Burton has said that his guest hosting debut wasn't necessarily his best work and that his wife described his performance on the episode as "eh." Apparently, there was a lot of that going around.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 10, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and more
-
5 streetwise cartoons about defunding PBS
Cartoons Artists take on immigrant puppets, defense spending, and more
-
Dark chocolate macadamia cookies recipe
The Week Recommends These one-bowl cookies will melt in your mouth
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia