Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 10, 2025, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Russian Literary Works) for Wednesday, December 10, 2025 (Season 42, Game 68):
The son of a former serf buys this title area for 90,000 rubles above the mortgage
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Eddie Kass, a double bassist from Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
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Chelsea Carter, a creative director from Pasadena, California
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Will Riley, an engineer originally from Houston, Texas (2-day total: $45,602)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
As we get closer and closer to the end of regular play for 2025, Will Riley enters today’s game as a 2-day champion; his challengers today are Eddie Kass of Massachusetts and Chelsea Carter of California. It’s an important game for Will, as—assuming 2027’s postseason is structured similarly to 2026’s—a victory today will ensure a return trip to the Alex Trebek Stage.
Judging by some of the unapproved comments I’ve seen recently, I think that there might be a misconception or two that needs to be cleared up surrounding the Jeopardy! casting process. Once prospective contestants pass the contestant tests and finish the Zoom interview, determining who gets selected for the show at that point is not random. For the entirety of the show’s history, dating back to 1984, the show’s contestant co-ordinators have been watching the interviews in order to best determine who are most likely to shine on television, while also keeping a close eye on balancing geography, occupations, and demographics. (Because it would be incredibly boring if we saw a bunch of 40-something lawyers from New York City competing against each other.) It’s quite similar to a lot of other shows on television, with the exception that you have to pass the difficult knowledge test first—because first and foremost, the show needs to know that you’re capable of handling the material on the show.
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is The Cherry Orchard?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2025 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
The Cherry Orchard, first performed in 1904, was one of the major plays of the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. The main action of the play is a Russian aristocrat, Lyubov Ranevskaya, living in Paris, who returns to her family’s estate just before it is auctioned off to pay the mortgage. She ultimately permits the sale of the orchard to Lopakhin, the son of a former serf who has gained wealth and status, who orders the orchard to be chopped down in order to make way for housing.
It’s always hard to say how a Final Jeopardy such as this one will play; The Cherry Orchard has squarely been a part of the show’s canon for years. We’ll see how it goes.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, December 10, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Remember December; The “New” World; Prison Lingo; Literary Agents; The Name Of The Game; That’s A Christmas Movie)
While Will picked up another of high-valued responses, Eddie was still leading this game of quantity-over-quality after 15 clues; at the interviews, the scores sat at Eddie $4,200 Will $3,600 Chelsea $1,400.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Eddie 8 correct 0 incorrect
Will 4 correct 0 incorrect
Chelsea 2 correct 0 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Eddie had the Anytime Test thrust upon him by a chamber music friend.
Chelsea very much enjoys solo traveling.
Will took a trip to Germany last summer where he saved someone’s life.
Eddie found the Daily Double eventually, but an incorrect response meant he sat third at the end of the round as Will led after 30.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Will 8 correct 0 incorrect
Chelsea 8 correct 0 incorrect
Eddie 10 correct 1 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Will $6,000
Chelsea $4,400
Eddie $2,800
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Civil War Era Geography; Paintings; Broadway Number, Please; From The French; Med. Abbrev.; Make Your Own Wes Anderson Movie Title)
Both Eddie and Will got Daily Doubles incorrect; Eddie looked in control late; however, Will was correct on 5 consecutive clues to briefly retake the lead, but Eddie took the lead back before the end of the round.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Eddie 21 correct 2 incorrect
Will 16 correct 3 incorrect
Chelsea 10 correct 1 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 8 (2 today).
Scores going into Final:
Eddie $13,800
Will $12,200
Chelsea $4,400
Chelsea was the only player correct in Final Jeopardy; however, Will made a very savvy Final Jeopardy bet and ended up the winner after Eddie went for just above the standard cover wager! He’ll go for win #4 tomorrow.
Tonight’s results:
Chelsea $4,400 + $4,399 = $8,799 (What is The Cherry Orchard)
Will $12,200 – $3,399 = $8,801 (What is The House of) (3-day total: $54,403)
Eddie $13,800 – $11,000 = $2,800 (What is The Gulag?)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) THAT’S A CHRISTMAS MOVIE $400 (clue #23)
Eddie 5400 -2600 (Will 4800 Chelsea 2200)
2) FROM THE FRENCH $1600 (clue #10)
Eddie 9200 -1800 (Will 4800 Chelsea 4800)
3) CIVIL WAR ERA GEOGRAPHY $1600 (clue #18, $14400 left on board)
Will 8400 -3000 (Chelsea 6000 Eddie 11000)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -103
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Will 4 4 3 2 3 1 4
Chelsea 1 4 1 1 2
Eddie 4 3 2 3 5 5 4 2 5 3 2*
DJ! Round:
Will 3† 3 4*
Chelsea 1 2†
Eddie 2 3 4 5 1 2 1 3 4* 5† 2 4 5
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Will 3.10
Chelsea 1.71
Eddie 3.29
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: MED. ABBREV. $400 $800
Total Left On Board: $1,200
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 8 (0.12 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Will $15,200 Coryat, 16 correct, 3 incorrect, 32.73% in first on buzzer (18/55), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Chelsea $4,400 Coryat, 10 correct, 1 incorrect, 20.00% in first on buzzer (11/55), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Eddie $18,200 Coryat, 21 correct, 2 incorrect, 32.73% in first on buzzer (18/55), 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $37,800
Lach Trash: $7,400 (on 8 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $7,600
Lead Changes: 9
Times Tied: 7
Player Statistics:
Will Riley, career statistics:
54 correct, 11 incorrect
4/5 on rebound attempts (on 10 rebound opportunities)
31.36% in first on buzzer (53/169)
3/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $6,200)
2/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,533
Chelsea Carter, career statistics:
11 correct, 1 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
20.00% in first on buzzer (11/55)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $4,400
Eddie Kass, career statistics:
21 correct, 3 incorrect
3/3 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
32.73% in first on buzzer (18/55)
0/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$4,400)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,200
Will Riley, to win:
4 games: 47.679%
5: 22.733%
6: 10.839%
7: 5.168%
8: 2.464%
Avg. streak: 3.911 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- As Ken said, the Civil War Era Geography $1,200 clue was pinned specifically to the name of the stream, “Bull Run”.
- Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Eddie $13,800 Will $12,200 Chelsea $4,400)
Will: Bet between $3,200 (just in case Eddie does make a bet between $0 and $1,600) and $3,399 (thereby keeping Chelsea locked out.) (Actual bet: $3,399)
Chelsea: You’re going to need an incorrect response from Eddie and an overbet from Will to have a chance. Bet between $0 and $1,199 for the best chance of victory. (Actual bet: $4,399)
Eddie: Standard cover bet over Will is $10,601. (Actual bet: $11,000)
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I forgot plays count as literary works and got stumped on this one.
Right there with you, WWORDuke. I was trying to think of a book that would fit the clue and the only title area I could think of was “The Gulag Archipelago” which didn’t fit the clue at all. I guess I’m “The Idiot” today. 🙂
First I look at the category and think of the possibilities it could be (as I assume the contestants do in the time between the giving of the category and when the clue is given) and then given the clue none of the ones that came to me were a place. So, my brain scrambled, and all I got was Gorky Park – which it turns out was written by an American.
After understanding “the title area”, finding the correct answer among “War and Peace”, “Crime and Punishment”, and “The Cherry Orchard” was not hard. 🙂
I’ve seen “The Cherry Orchard” and a few other Chekhov plays (“The Seagull”, “Uncle Vanya”, “Three Sisters”), but I find him dull. Much better are the parodies, such as “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” by Christopher Durang or “Stupid Bird” by Aaron Posner.
I have never even heard of “The Cherry Orchard.” So, a big fail for me.
Great to see a fellow Pasadena dweller on the show. 🙂 Great try Chelsea!