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First Appearance Wins

A list of 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 round, 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
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