Cambridge Resident To Be On 'Jeopardy!' Thursday

CAMBRIDGE, MA — A Cambridge resident will be showing off her trivia skills on the quiz show to beat all quiz shows. This Thursday, Carrie Blazina will be on "Jeopardy!" answering in the form of a question.

"It's so surreal. The entire process was wild. But it's definitely getting even more surreal as it gets closer to airing," said Blazina, 26, a copy editor for The Boston Globe, which she joined in 2014.

In November 2017, she somehow found herself staring at the online test that is the first step to getting on the show. Blazina had particpated in quiz-bowl type shows in High School and perhaps that played into her taking the test, she said.

"I never really thought 'I'm so smart I should be on a game show'," she said. But the test was low stakes she figured "why not?"

Some 80,000 people take the test each year so she gave it a shot.

"I do remember thinking at the time, 'yeah but if you take the test you could be on the show, so you better be prepared for that, too'," she told Patch in a phone interview Wednesday.

But as the months floated past she figured that ship had sailed.

And then suddenly the producers of the show sent her an email to see if she would be willing to come to an in person email.

"I screamed for about 5 minutes and then answered the email 'yes'," she said.

Four weeks of pub trivia, clicking on her pen while watching the show and flashcards later, she flew to Los Angeles for taping in November 2018 with her boyfriend and parents for support, and perhaps to help her carry a suitcase filled with multiple outfits, including at least six sweaters. The show requested she bring plenty in case she won and had to tape more shows that same day.

Whether she won she cannot say, she said. And that and other details are secrets she's been holding on to since she came back home.

"Everyone is trying to break me. It's not working. My lips are sealed," she said, noting that she does have a group text going with all the other contestants who taped the same day, and they're allowed talk about it - which helps.

But she will be relieved to finally share more details after the show airs Thursday.

She and some friends and coworkers will be heading to a bar in Inman Square to watch it on the big screen, she said.

Blazina admits to a couple mess ups during the rehersal, but overall, she said she's happy with the way she prepped for the show.

"I just didn't want to go down in internet infamy. Thankfully, I feel like I didn't do anything that will invite the trolls. God let's hope," she said.

The one thing she said she didn't master ahead of time? Her betting strategy. But she won't say whether that was a factor in her game.

As for what Alex Tebek, the game show's host since 1984, was like? Blazina said he left her with a positive impression.

"He was friendly and happy to chat with people," she said. "My favorite anecdote about him is; at the end of the show he'll come shake hands with the contests, he stops with me and he says, how old are are you again? And I tell him and he says in that way, 'Wait a second, I have shoes older than you.' He's full of dad jokes, but he's professional and silly and fun to be around."

Blazina also sat down with the Globe for a Q&A about the process of prepping for the show, which she applied to be on about a year back. Prep involved more trivia nights at bars and flashcards, she said. Read the whole fascinating Q&A here.

And if you're inspired to watch the show to cheer on your neighbor, here's how. For most of Greater Boston it airs on WBZ CBS Boston at 7:30 p.m.

Never miss another local news story: Get free local news alerts right to your inbox.

And don't miss her commercial:

Trebek has been the game show's host since the current version premiered in 1984. The show created by Merv Griffin actually premiered in 1964 and ran until 1979 before it was rebooted in 1984. This is currently the show's 35th season.

Photo courtesy: Jeopardy Productions, Inc.