Jeopardy! kicked off its annual “Power Players Week” last night, in which well-known journalists and media intellectuals compete on the famed quiz show for the charities of their choice. Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd, conservative commentator S.E. Cupp, and novelist Jonathan Franzen competed on Monday’s show, with Cupp proving victorious in the end after all three failed to correctly answer the Final Jeopardy question. However, Franzen (who called the experience “a nightmare come true”) was as charming and grumpy as ever, finishing in second place. Although Jeopardy! has yet to release clips from the taping — including Franzen missing a Shakespeare question and hiding under his booth in shame — here’s a brief recap of what you missed.
.@SECupp is today's #2016PowerPlayers champ, nailing her goal of winning $50K for @nokidhungry! Here's the recap: https://t.co/TuUfauWLfO
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) May 17, 2016Franzen’s charity was for birds, and yes, there was a category about birds, which he destroyed.
#JonathanFranzen is a passionate bird lover and has chosen to play for @ABCbirds1 during #2016PowerPlayers:https://t.co/h5UgwLFuMN
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) May 16, 2016Jonathan Franzen is on jeopardy right now and his charity is a BIRD CONSERVATORY
— THRILLHO (@heyirony) May 16, 2016I'm guessing that Jonathan Franzen agreed to participate in Jeopardy only if there would be a birding category
— Luke Epplin (@LukeEpplin) May 16, 2016Jonathan Franzen is on Jeopardy right now, and he's asking for all the bird-related questions because OF COURSE HE IS.
— Kristen Evans (@paperalphabet) May 16, 2016Jonathan Franzen ALL OVER this birds category on #Jeopardy. pic.twitter.com/TmjFfAoRmZ
— Mary Kate Frank (@MaryKateFrank) May 16, 2016Jonathan Franzen repping a bird conservatory as his charity on Jeopardy, wondering how many pro-bird thinkpieces I'll see tomorrow.
— April Wolfe (@AWolfeful) May 17, 2016And he gave a very Franzenian fun fact to start off the show.
I'm finally watching last night's Jeopardy and it's so iconic. Jonathan Franzen's fun fact is that he hates Twitter!
— Daniel D'Addario (@DPD_) May 17, 2016Alex Trebek to Jonathan Franzen: "You don't like to tweet. I'm against Twitter also." Anyway, Celebrity Jeopardy is off to a rockin' start.
— brandon? (@brandonspears) May 16, 2016Other big names — such as Anderson Cooper, Louis C.K., and Matthew Weiner — will be making appearances later this week.
What Happened on Franzen’s Jeopardy! Last NightncG1vNJzZmivp6x7t8HLrayrnV6YvK57kWlob2dgany4tMCtZKGZoKWyr7HDZqanZZanrq%2FGxKeqZqKVpL2ivsOyZKWZo6l6r7XGoatnoKSiuQ%3D%3D