Host Alex Trebek with Chattanoogan Jeff Harmon, a former contestant.‘Jeopardy’
* About the show: First aired in 1964. Hosted by Alex Trebek. Three contestants provide questions to the given answers and compete in six categories in two rounds per show, plus a final question. Prize money varies. * Network/website: Syndicated; jeopardy.com/beacontestant/contestantfaqs * Contestant requirements: Applicants must be over 18 (except for the Teen Tournament, College Championship and Kids’ Week). To qualify for an “in-person” audition, you must have passed the qualifying test online or at an authorized “Jeopardy” event. If you pass and are invited to an in-person audition, you will take another 50-question written test. Your application will be judged on your audition test score as well as your online score. Everyone at the audition also plays a short mock version of “Jeopardy,” three contestants at a time.
Previous “Survivor” winners are Amber Brkich, Rob Mariano and Jenna Lewis.‘Survivor’
* About the show: First aired in 2000. Hosted by Jeff Probst. Sixteen men and women, divided into two teams, vote their fellow contestants one-by-one off the remote location where they are staying. Prize: $1 million. * Network/website: CBS; cbssurvivorcasting.com * Contestant requirements: Must be at least 18. (in Alabama and Nebraska it’s 19; in Mississippi and Washington, D.C., it’s 21.) You must be a U.S. citizen with valid passport. Online applications and a video submission are required. Preliminary phone interviews are done December through February. The show receives tens of thousands of applications every year, but show officials want “quality” contestants, so they often choose models and actors as contestants. Background checks are done. When choosing contestants, show officials generally drop them into one of three categories: Sex, Conflict and Comedy, meaning their personality or looks fit one of those themes.
Good Morning America’s Lara Spencer, third left, poses with the “sharks.”‘Shark Tank’
* About the show: First aired in 2009. Hosts are a panel of potential investors called “sharks,” including Mark Cuban (owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks), Robert Herjavec (Canadian technology whiz), Daymond John (CEO of FUBU clothing company), Barbara Corcoran (New York real estate mogul) and Kevin O’Leary (Canadian entrepreneur). Each week, contestants seeking investment money pitch their business or product ideas. Prize money varies depending on how much the sharks want to invest. * Network/website: ABC; abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank/apply * Contestant requirements: There are two ways to apply: by email (address on website above) or at open casting calls held around the country. At a casting call, you’ll give a 1-minute pitch of your business/product/idea to a casting team member; to be eligible for the calls, you must have a completed an application packet downloaded from the website. Open call venues and dates are listed on the website.
“The Amazing Race 5” host Phil Keoghan congratulates a California couple, who are $1 million winners.‘The Amazing Race’
* About the show: First aired in 2001. Hosted by Phil Keoghan. Eleven pairs of competitors — often couples — travel the world, completing in various challenges. Prize: $1 million. * Network/website: CBS; theamazingracecasting.com * Contestant requirements: Applicants must be 21 and a U.S. citizen with a valid passport. Apply online. A photo (closeup of you and your partner) and video are required. In the video, applicants should “focus on relationship positives and negatives. We love banter!!” You must be physically and mentally fit and pass a background check. If chosen as a semi-finalist, you must take physical and psychological exams. Seasons are filmed between May and July. Those selected this year will start filming May 2016; casting calls go out four to six months before filming begins.
Two sisters from Alabama go for gold on “The Biggest Loser.”‘The Biggest Loser’
* About the show: First aired in 2004. Hosted by Alison Sweeney. Contestants work with fitness trainers to see who can lose the most weight during the show’s season. Prize: $250,000. * Network/website: NBC; biggestlosercasting.com * Contestant requirements: People with at least 100 pounds to lose are encouraged to apply. You must complete a nine-page online application with personal details about your life and a full-body photo. You also must make a video and send it in. Casting calls are held in various cities; check “The Biggest Loser” website for details on when and where. If you are being considered, you will fill out more forms, including one that asks you about crimes you’ve committed; contestants that go further also may have Skype interviews before being brought in for live auditions.