Sri Lankan Canadian Soumia Meiyappan’s long-running dream of becoming a contestant on Jeopardy was finally realized when she received the call in December to tape a show in Los Angeles.
As a young girl Meiyappan had always been Jeopardy fan, the long journey to become a contestant started in 2007, with online tests, an audition in New York in 2009 and a second audition last November which eventually sealed a spot for her on the world’s top quiz show.
“In September 2015, I received another email inviting me out to an audition – this time I had chosen Boston – in October. By that time, I had had 6 more years of Jeopardy-watching and an audition under my belt, and a whole lot more confidence. My sister accompanied me to the audition and made sure that I was well-prepared by quizzing me and re-watching older episodes with me. Less than two months later, in early December, I got ‘the call’ to be on the show,” Meiyappan told lankareporter.com.
“I was just getting back to my desk at work when I saw a California number was calling me. I was ecstatic and even shed a few tears, knowing that my almost life-long dream was about to come true. Before I left for the taping, my friends, family, and colleagues all encouraged me to just have fun and remember that this is the experience of a lifetime.”
The show will air on Thursday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and Yes TV.
Meiyappan says she enjoyed every minute of the taping in Los Angeles.
“They were all so enthusiastic and amazing at pumping us up and getting us ready for the show. We did not know who we would face, as that was determined right before each show started. However, unlike at the audition, where conversations between contestant hopefuls was cordial at best, there was a real camaraderie between us in the green room, now that we all knew we had reached our goals of being on the show,” she said
“Alex Trebek was also very friendly, possibly because I am a fellow Canadian. I was so mesmerized by the beautiful studio lights and couldn’t believe how fast the game went by.”
Jeopardy is described as America’s Favorite Quiz Show, and its host, Alex Trebek, are in their 32nd season in syndication. The top-ranked quiz show, with 25 million viewers each week, Jeopardy holds the Guinness World Records title for the most Emmy Awards won by a TV game show (32 Emmys). The show is produced by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company; it is distributed domestically by CBS Television Distribution and internationally by CBS Television International, both units of CBS Corp.
