Siblings Rick and Betsy Katschke got “the best Christmas present ever” this year.
A week before the holiday, the Milwaukee-area brother and sister found out they’d been cast as a team on Season 2 of “Pop Culture Jeopardy!” after trying out for the show for a second time. The two were “absolutely ecstatic,” said Betsy, a clinical program coordinator by day and actress and improvisor by night.
While Rick and Betsy grew up in Franklin watching OG “Jeopardy!,” the new-ish pop culture version was more-tailored to their interests. Betsy loves all things Taylor Swift – she even has a T-Swift-themed improv group – Broadway musicals and late-2000s emo/alternative bands. Rick’s wheelhouse is ’80s and ’90s movies and bands.
“So many elements of my pop culture insight came from Rick,” Betsy said, noting that she’s always looked up to her older brother. He took her to her first concerts in middle school and introduced her to so many musicians, movies and artists.
“It’s just such a perfect show for us, so it was exciting to get onto it,” said Rick, a stay-at-home father of two, host of the trivia podcast “The Catered Quiz,” and a Milwaukee Record contributor.
Just a few weeks after getting the good news, the siblings went to California for filming. The show’s second season, again hosted by Colin Jost, premiered May 11 on Netflix. New episodes drop weekdays into June. Rick and Betsy’s team, cleverly dubbed “Katschke If You Can,” made their debut on Thursday, May 14’s episode.
If you’re not familiar with the show, think “Jeopardy!’s” less-studious, trendy, energetic bestie. Instead of flying solo like on “Jeopardy!,” teams of two compete in a tournament-style game, playing “through weeks of regular shows plus a one-week tournament until one team emerges triumphant,” according to Tudum, Netflix’s official companion site.
This wasn’t the siblings’ first brush with fame. Along with their parents and middle sister, Katie, the family competed on “Family Feud” around a decade ago. Betsy said she’s also played an extra on “Chicago Fire” and “Joe Pera Talks with You.” And, one time, Rick and his wife got an unexpected cameo on the “Late Show with David Letterman” as audience members during their honeymoon.
Let’s take a look at the siblings’ latest 15 minutes and how you can catch them on “Pop Culture Jeopardy!”:
Wisconsin siblings competing as team on ‘Pop Culture Jeopardy!’
Following “Jeopardy!” on social media, Rick and Betsy saw the spring 2024 announcement of its new pop culture spinoff. With the siblings being “total pop culture nerds” – Betsy’s words, not ours – and having different areas of expertise – in part thanks to their nine-year age gap – they knew they could cover a lot of ground.
After doing well on the show’s online test, the siblings were invited to play a mock game, then filled out paperwork. While they didn’t end up making the cut, they tuned into the first season, loved it and played along to see how they would’ve done.
After it was announced that there would be a Season 2, Rick, of Franklin, and Betsy, of Wauwatosa, decided to give it another go. The second time would be the charm.
“We did two weeks of just cramming everything we could to cover our weaknesses and try to get as much knowledge as we could before we went out onto the show,” Rick said.
That included rewatching the show’s first season, checking out trivia books from the Milwaukee Public Library, practicing with trivia cards from board games and going through all of the questions from the 2026 “Pop Culture Jeopardy!” day-to-day calendar. From writing trivia questions for his own podcast, Rick said, he was able to get into the mindset of how might a particular topic come up or be presented. And, his sister actually listened to his podcast in preparation.
Katie went coach-mode, creating her own “Pop Culture Jeopardy!” mock games for Rick and Betsy to play. Katie, who accompanied her siblings to Cali, even did trivia with them on the plane ride there.
Like “Jeopardy!,” the pop culture iteration also films on the Alex Trebek Stage at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. While the siblings had nerves and “imposter syndrome,” Betsy said, the producers created “a fun, party energy” for the teams in the green room. What also helped knock out the nerves was the warm-up games the teams played both before hitting the stage and once they were on it. Plus, the siblings had their previous game-show experience to lean back on, which Betsy said helped put them at ease.
With Rick and Betsy both being huge “Saturday Night Live” fans, Betsy said, it was so cool meeting “Pop Culture” host Jost and realizing she was “one degree away from meeting Amy Poehler.”
Rick said it was “really cool” clicking with other teams – from across the country and Canada – that are passionate about pop culture, like he and his sister are.
While in California, which marked their first siblings-only trip, Rick, Betsy and Katie went to Disneyland, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the Santa Monica Pier and a comedy show at the Upright Citizens Brigade.
Some of the siblings’ favorite things to do together – you know, when they’re not competing on a game show – are having movie nights and going to baseball games, comedy shows and podcast recordings. Betsy is a long-distance runner and is training for her second marathon. Rick enjoys concerts and sporting events, especially Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Admirals games with his 9-year-old son. And, with his 3-year-old daughter loving “The Wizard of Oz,” watching that film with her and taking her to Oconomowoc’s Oz Plaza.
How to watch ‘Pop Culture Jeopardy!’ Season 2
“Pop Culture Jeopardy!” Season 2 is streaming on Netflix. New episodes drop weekdays into June. Episode 4, on which Rick and Betsy make their debut, hits the platform May 14.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Meet the Wisconsin brother-sister team on ‘Pop Culture Jeopardy!’
Reporting by Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
