January 04, 2024
Eric McCandless/ABC
'Abbott Elementary' star Lisa Ann Walter has advanced to the 'Celebrity Jeopardy!' finals after winning a close semifinal match that aired Tuesday.
Lisa Ann Walter, star of "Abbott Elementary," is earning top marks during her "Celebrity Jeopardy!" run.
The actress has won her spot in the finals of the latest season of the "Jeopardy!" spinoff show, in which celebrities play to win money for charity. During the first episode of the semifinals, which aired Tuesday night, Walter beat actress Mira Sorvino and actor Utkarsh Ambudkar in a thrilling match.
Tuesday's game — which "Jeopardy!" producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss described as "her favorite match of the season" — was a tight race between Walter, Ambudkar (of the CBS sitcom "Ghosts") and the Oscar-winning "Mighty Aphrodite" actress Sorvino. The trio were within $300 of each other going into the first commercial break, and Walter had only a slight lead going into the Double Jeopardy! round.
Sorvino gave Walter a run for her money during Double Jeopardy!, taking the lead with $11,200 as Walter sat in third with $4,400. But "Celebrity Jeopardy!" includes a special Triple Jeopardy! round, during which Walter battled back and chipped away at Sorvino's lead.
The pair were neck and neck, with Walter leading by just $900 going into the Final Jeopardy! round. For the category of "Award-Winning Actresses," the final clue read: "Her 2019 Oscar win and 2021 Emmy win were both for portraying a British queen."
Sorvino answered incorrectly and lost all of her earnings, while Walter gave the correct answer of Olivia Colman. Walter wagered the large sum of $15,201 and secured a victory with a final total of $32,201.
"Y'all — I did that," Walter wrote in a celebratory Instagram post that was met with congratulatory comments from fans, who compared her winning performance to the quick-wittedness of her "Abbott Elementary" character Melissa Schemmenti.
"Y’all didn’t know she was a genius?!?," one user commented. "The real life Ms. Schemmenti!!!!"
In the quarterfinal round of "Celebrity Jeopardy!," which aired back in October, Walter beat "The Office" actor Brian Baumgartner and "Veep" actor Timothy Simons. Walter's two opponents for the finals will be determined by the semifinal matches on Jan. 9 and Jan. 16.
ABC has not yet revealed the air date for the "Celebrity Jeopardy!" finals. The winner will receive $1 million to be used for a charity of their choice. Walter is playing for the Entertainment Community Fund, which aims to provide a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals.
On "Abbott Elementary," Walter plays a sassy Italian American second grade teacher, a role for which she worked to perfect her South Philly accent. The actress, who is originally from D.C., first broke through in Hollywood with a role in the 1998 film "The Parent Trap." She also is a longtime stand-up comedian who performed five shows at the Helium Comedy Club in Center City last summer.
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