In the world of quiz shows, it's not often you see crossover from previous Jeopardy! contestants. Well, it looks like a former champ decided to test his trivia knowledge one more time — and Reddit is buzzing about seeing him return to TV.
Back in 2005, Jeopardy! viewers met art historian David Madden. At the time of his first appearance on the series, he managed to gain a 19-game streak, winning him a total of $432,400. He was eventually bested by Victoria Groce, and he later went on to play in the 2006 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions and become the competitor with the eighth-longest streak in show history. (BTW, he's tied for the spot with Jason Zuffranieri.) In recent years, folks watched him return to the TV franchise as part of the 2024 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament, but he ended up losing his episode and only took home $10,000.
Well, it seems like David is trying to win money for his skills at trivia once again — this time, though, he's taking his chances with another TV show. On February 9, viewers watched as he appeared on The Floor season 3 premiere, where he found himself getting an unexpected shout out from host Rob Lowe as he stood in the "European Geography" category.
"You’re sending off intimidating vibes already," Rob said to David, per TV Insider.
"The plan is working," David responded.
While David wasn't called up to compete out of the 100 players who all have expertise in specific categories, his short time in the spotlight had fans stunned on Reddit. What's more, they immediately recognized him — and some even had thoughts about when they'll get to see him play on The Floor.
"David Madden is on S3 of The Floor. His category is European Geography," one person noted on Reddit. "Given that category, it seems highly unlikely that anyone will challenge [David]. We probably won't see him play until the randomizer chooses him," a different viewer added.
Now, we don't know how long David's time on The Floor will be. But after seeing him, it's fair to say we're now intrigued to see what happens on this week's episode!
As the entertainment and news associate editor for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie, 9-1-1 and Grey's Anatomy, though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.