Hello Jeopardy! team,

I’m an award-winning producer with Melbar Entertainment Group in Toronto, one of Canada’s largest producers of unscripted content, specializing in feature-length documentaries with broad commercial appeal. I also produce live and live-to-tape studio-based series and specials in front of live audiences — as you well know, a high-stakes, deadline-driven environment.

One of my first production jobs was contestant coordinator on a daily high-school quiz show — the mid-2000s version of the series Alex Trebek once hosted in Canada, Reach for the Top — and I have long sought an opportunity to return to the genre.

My extensive work in documentary, comedy, and variety have provided the ideal skill set: managing real people and making compelling television, ensuring that our diversity and inclusion expectations are routinely surpassed, and successfully leading many projects simultaneously, experience that will prove useful in searching for Jeopardy! contestants in all its current and future iterations.

My latest film, Born Hungry, is co-produced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas and enjoyed three sold-out screenings at Toronto’s Hot Docs festival this summer. Other recent titles include Oscar Peterson: Black + White (streaming on Hulu, following a world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, and the winner of two Canadian Screen Awards: Best Arts Documentary and Best Visual Research), Without Precedent: The Supreme Life of Rosalie Abella (CBC, PBS), and Howie Mandel: But Enough About Me (Peacock).

I would love to collaborate with you and your legendary team on the Alex Trebek Stage, and I would be thrilled to discuss this opportunity to join television’s all-time greatest show as it continues to grow and expand under the phenomenal leadership of Michael Davies.

All the best,

Mark Selby
647.999.1554  |  m.selby@me.com
www.markselby.ca/jeopardy

P.S. For more career details, please visit the rest of my site!

P.P.S. Please see the FAQ below of questions that might be on your mind:

We have a great track record of working with Canadians! Did you ever get to meet or work with the beloved Alex Trebek?

I am honoured to have worked with Alex Trebek on two productions:

• In 2017, Alex drove himself in his flat-bed truck to our rented studio in Van Nuys for an interview about his induction on Canada’s Walk of Fame, which was included in a one-hour retrospective that fall.

• I was also a producer on the 2020 Canadian Screen Awards when Alex was given a lifetime achievement award.

In both cases, it was thanks to the wonderful people on the Jeopardy! staff — especially Rocky Schmidt, Alison Shapiro, and Nicky Trebek — who helped make these happen. (Incidentally, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television staff always looked forward to their annual call from Alex renewing his yearly membership by phone.)

I also had a memorable opportunity to meet with Mr. Davies one-on-one at Embassy Row’s offices in NYC several years ago, expressing my deep interest in finding a chance to work with him.

Isn’t this too much work on OUR end? We don’t have the capabilities to sponsor a Canadian to come work on the show.

Luckily, all the paperwork is in order and there is no additional cost or hassle in hiring me to join your team. A letter of employment from an executive or line producer is all that is needed to activate my work visa and I’m ready to go.

Aren’t you tied down to existing commitments in Toronto?

I have travelled for work contracts before, from Montreal to New York City, often on short notice, and now is a perfect time to join the team in Culver City before another Canadian winter sets in!

Have you even watched Jeopardy! before?

I am an equal-opportunity game show lover, and have been since I was a child (see below), but I am a major fan of the show in all its iterations. From tracking down copies of the original Art Fleming run to supporting my friend in her 3-episode run in 2018 (and gifting her a Johnny Gilbert record that he autographed for her on camera), Jeopardy! is a big part of my life.