Take heart. All is not lost in American culture. There is a survey out that shows TV game shows are still popular with American viewers.

Online gaming experts Cribbage Online analyzed Google Keyword Planner data in search of which TV game show is the most popular in America. A list of more than 40 shows was made. 25 common search terms related to TV game shows informed the experts of the nationwide average monthly search volume for each show over the past year.

Jeopardy! is America’s most popular game show. This is probably not a surprise to anyone.

The results from the average monthly search volume for TV game shows in each state found that Jeopardy! is the most popular game show in every state. In 46 states, Family Feud is the second most popular game show. The exceptions were Connecticut (The Price is Right), Iowa (Wheel of Fortune), Minnesota (Wheel of Fortune) and South Dakota (Wheel of Fortune).

Game shows sometimes bring controversies and Jeopardy! has had its share in recent years. In May, actor Wil Wheaton slammed host Ken Jennings for crossing the WGA picket line. In 2022 there was some publicity over champion Amy Schneider, an openly transgender woman, and her political activism. Now the controversy is over an art history question that was used in Final Jeopardy.

Contestants Alex Gordon, Dileri Johnson and James Tyler were asked, “At the 1865 Paris art salon, the elder of these two men said if the younger were successful, it would be ‘because his name sounds like mine.'”

As the competitors raced to give an answer against the 30-second clock, the famous Jeopardy! theme song played in the background. When the time fully elapsed, Ken asked Alex to share his guess. “Who are [Édouard] Manet and [Claude] Monet,” he responded. With that, Ken declared that Alex was correct.

But when it came to Dileri and James’ replies, they unfortunately only gave half of the right answer. “Who is Manet?” Dileri wrote down, while James’ screen read, “Who is Monet?”

This led Ken to make a funny quip about the two competitors. “Well between you and Dileri, you have a correct response,” he joked. Still, that wasn’t the greatest twist of the game.

Viewers were shocked to see that Alex didn’t win the game. James took home the title because he had the highest earnings.

“I’m starting to think we won’t have another [Tournament of Champions] qualifier until the next season starts,” one person wrote on YouTube, referencing Alex not winning more than one game after his initial win on July 7. “Epic fails by both the leaders. [To be honest], I made the same choke and tried guessing which was older, Monet or Manet, then I caught myself and nailed it,” another noted. “It’s pretty clear – ‘this’ or ‘these’ always indicates the correct question. They just misread the clue, plain and simple,” a different viewer remarked on Twitter.

Despite his first win, James eventually lost when he didn’t come out on top in the next taping. So, like Alex, his reign as champion only lasted one game. This contrasts the historic 2022 season of Jeopardy! when the quiz show featured a handful of contestants with long winning streaks, including Matt Amodio, Amy Schneider and Mattea Roach.

2023 just isn’t a big year for long winning streaks. It happens. 2022 was more of a fluke year. Maybe the disgruntled fans just got used to those winners. Otherwise, as far as I know, the person with the most money at the end of the game wins.

I’m just glad game shows are still popular. That means they will continue on. The shows are a good distraction to cable news and the usual stories of the day. A bonus is that if you play along, you may exercise your brain, maybe keep yourself mentally alert. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.