First Appearance Wins

A table displaying panelists who won outright or tied for first place on their debut appearance. Information includes the show date, score at the start of the Lightning Fill In The Blank segment, the number of correct answers, total score, and ranking.

Panelist	Show Date	Start	Correct	Total Score	Rank
Alexandra Petri	2017-02-18	4	6	16	First
Ashley Ray	2022-02-19	2	6	14	First Tied
Cristela Alonzo	2021-05-29	3	5	13	First Tied
Evan Smith	2001-09-29	4	6	16	First
Jeff Hiller	2025-06-21	4	6	16	First
John Hodgman	2017-11-18	3	5	13	First Tied
Josh Gondelman	2019-11-02	3	5	13	First
Karen Grigsby Bates	2004-03-27	4	7	18	First
KC Shornima	2025-09-27	2	8	18	First
Ken Jennings	2013-06-01	4	6	16	First Tied
Kyrie O'Connor	2004-10-16	3	7	17	First Tied
Luke Burbank	2006-07-01	3	6	15	First
Moshe Kasher	2014-09-13	4	4	12	First
Negin Farsad	2017-03-18	3	5	13	First
Nick Hancock	2011-12-24	6	5	16	First
Ophira Eisenberg	2014-06-14	4	5	14	First
Patt Morrison	2000-07-08	4	5	14	First
Peter Grosz	2010-06-19	3	5	13	First
Peter Sagal	1998-01-03	-	-	24	First
Phoebe Robinson	2017-06-24	4	4	12	First Tied
Rachel Feinstein	2025-02-08	4	5	14	First
River Butcher	2024-05-04	4	6	16	First
Robby Hoffman	2023-04-22	2	6	14	First
Sue Ellicott	1998-12-05	4	5	14	First
Tara Clancy	2018-03-10	3	7	17	First