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Seth Meyers and Steve Higgins Wrote "SNL 40: Celebrity Jeopardy" for a Legendary Cast
The anniversary edition of Will Ferrell's classic sketch co-stars Jim Carrey, Darrell Hammond, and the late Norm MacDonald as Turd Ferguson — er, Burt Reynolds.
In the weeks leading up to February 16's three-hour 50th anniversary celebration on NBC, the team behind Saturday Night Live has selected one sketch from every single season — 50 seasons in 50 days — to reflect the show's rich legacy across five decades. Presenting the sketch chosen to represent Season 40: The "Celebrity Jeopardy" installment from SNL40, the show's celebrity-packed 2015 40th anniversary special.
When Will Ferrell was an SNL cast member from 1995 to 2002, his tenure on the show birthed memorable original characters (such as Gene Frenkle of "More Cowbell" fame), as well as unforgettable impressions. Ranking high among them: Ferrell's hilariously irritable spin on longtime Jeopardy! Host Alex Trebek, who appeared in no less than 15 "Celebrity Jeopardy" sketches. And the final installment, featuring a star-studded cast, unfolded during the SNL40 anniversary special in 2015. It brought the return of former "Weekend Update" anchor Norm MacDonald as Burt Reynolds, alongside Season 40 cast members Taran Killam and Kate McKinnon and several special guests.
Originally written by longtime SNL writer and producer Steve Higgins — who has a side gig as Jimmy Fallon's announcer on The Tonight Show — with Adam McKay, the idea for "Celebrity Jeopardy" was actually suggested by Higgins' wife (more on that later). And happily, the parody got a stamp of approval from the real Alex Trebek, who died in 2020.
"Trebek told Lorne [Michaels] that he loved the sketch. I was always very happy about that," Higgins told Variety shortly after Trebek's death, noting that he and MacDonald were big fans of the game show and used to play Jeopardy! in the SNL offices. "That would have been terrible, if he’d thought it was anything but love. You really can’t parody something if you don’t love it, or else it’s just mean."
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The "SNL40: Celebrity Jeopardy" cast included Jim Carrey, Alec Baldwin, and Norm MacDonald, aka "Turd Ferguson"
As with every entry in the classic sketch series, the SNL40 edition found Ferrell playing Trebek as a beleaguered straight man, tasked with corralling chaotic celebrities who are largely useless when it comes to trivia. It's why several of the categories are basically preschool level, from "Letters That Begin with G" to "State Your Name," and "Famous Oprahs."
Among the contestants were Trebek's frequent "Celebrity Jeopardy" nemesis, Sean Connery, played by Darrell Hammond (Hammond is the second-longest-running SNL cast member in history after Kenan Thompson, and the show's current announcer). McKinnon was introduced as a then-teenaged Justin Bieber, while Alec Baldwin played a joyfully clueless Tony Bennett.
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After Trebek put Connery in a "time out" for one of his classic, "The Pen Is Mightier"-style category mispronunciations, Burt Reynolds (MacDonald) pulled up on a mobile podium to appear as Turd Ferguson, an alias devised to drive Ferrell's Trebek nuts. Enter Killam as actor Christoph Waltz replacing Bieber, and an impeccably-groomed Jim Carrey as Matthew McConaughey
The anniversary sketch's sprawling cast made for an even crazier than usual edition. Watch "SNL40: Celebrity Jeopardy" from the SNL40 special above.
"SNL40: Celebrity Jeopardy" was written by Steve Higgins and Seth Meyers
The recurring "Celebrity Jeopardy" ran between 1996 and 2009. After Adam McKay's departure from SNL in 2001, Higgins told Variety that he wrote the subsequent ones with Mike Schur — who went on to write for The Office and create classic NBC comedies Parks and Recreation, The Good Place, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine — frequent Tina Fey collaborator and 30 Rock showrunner Robert Carlock, and Erik Kenward.
But it was Seth Meyers, an SNL head writer from Season 31 to Season 39, who co-wrote the 40th anniversary "Celebrity Jeopardy" with Higgins. Meyers has shared on Late Night that Lorne Michaels has "reached out" regarding SNL50: The Anniversary Special, so we'll have to see whether the sketch gets a revival on February 16.
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Steve Higgins' wife pitched the "Celebrity Jeopardy" sketch idea
One of "Celebrity Jeopardy"'s biggest charms — aside from watching Ferrell slowly ratchet up his annoyance at the contestants — is the fact that it's the perfect opportunity for cast and celebrity Hosts to showcase their impressions.
In reality, "the idea for the sketch came from my wife," Steve Higgins told Variety. "She said to me, “You should write a ‘Celebrity Jeopardy!’ sketch, because these celebrities don’t know that much." The pitch proved to be genius — and that's far from Ellen Niedert-Higgins' sole contribution to Saturday Night Live: She's the mother of Please Don't Destroy member John Higgins.
Trebek confirmed his affection for SNL's parodies in a 2009 Time interview. "We've never had any contestants as ornery as the Sean Connery character that Darrell Hammond portrays," he added. "I've been asked how I would feel if we had Sean Connery on Celebrity Jeopardy! I tell everyone I'd just walk up to him and punch out his lights." Imagine that in a sketch.
