--- ---  # Here's the Intense Process Behind Every High-Stakes Final _Jeopardy_ Question  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Sep 11, 2017 5:22 PM UTC  Alex Trebek poses on the set of Jeopardy on April 21, 2012. Alex Trebek poses on the set of Jeopardy on April 21, 2012.The Washington Post/Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Sep 11, 2017 5:22 PM UTC Final [Jeopardy](http://time.com/4529725/jeopardy-alex-trebek-losers-contestant/) may be just one of the countless questions that are posed — time permitting — to contestants during each episode of the popular [quiz](http://time.com/4809884/harry-potter-house-sorting-hat-quiz/) show, but it is generally the most high-stakes category of the night. For that reason, coming up with each final question is a process unto itself, according to head _Jeopardy!_ writer Billy Wisse. During an interview with [_Vulture_](http://www.vulture.com/2017/09/jeopardy-writers-room-questions.html), Wisse described the _Jeopardy!_ writers room’s approach to developing regular questions — which are approved by host [Alex Trebek](http://time.com/4676657/alex-trebek-drake-jeopardy-rap/) — Daily Doubles and the trivia competition’s game-changing conclusions. --- > “” --- What is, “that’s a lot of work,” Alex. Jeopardy: What Goes Into Writing the Final Questions? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4936105/jeopardy-final-question-process/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4936105/jeopardy-final-question-process/"},"headline":"Here's the Intense Process Behind Every High-Stakes Final Jeopardy Question","datePublished":"2017-09-11T17:22:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:22:05.012Z","description":"\"The first thing is to make sure at least one of the other writers can answer it\"","url":"https://time.com/4936105/jeopardy-final-question-process/","keywords":["Television","TV","Jeopardy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9fcf5e13e0eb8ad/6988dd3f0a4a225ef19cfd66/jeopardy-alex-trebek.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9fcf5e13e0eb8ad/6988dd3f0a4a225ef19cfd66/jeopardy-alex-trebek.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Alex Trebek Films Jeopardy","caption":"Alex Trebek poses on the set of Jeopardy on April 21, 2012.","creditText":"The Washington Post/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/television/","name":"Television"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4936105/jeopardy-final-question-process/","name":"Here's the Intense Process Behind Every High-Stakes Final Jeopardy Question"}}]}] ```