Root for a local Friday on Jeopardy!

Nearly three years and more than 100 questions.

If that was a Jeopardy! clue, a correct answer to yell at your television — in the form of a question — would be: What does it take to qualify to compete on the popular television game show?

Josiah Drewien, of Hayden Lake, will appear on Jeopardy! when it airs Friday at 2 p.m. on KHQ, but he answered his first questions for the quiz show several years ago.

“Every year, ‘Jeopardy!’ offers a 50-question online test that anyone can take. Clues and categories appear on screen one-at-a-time, and you have about 10 seconds to type each answer,” Drewien said.

He took the test in January 2014 and four months later, he received an email telling him he passed the test and qualified for an in-person audition.

With his wife and baby daughter, Drewien, an engineer, drove to Portland where he auditioned alongside about 20 other contestant hopefuls. There was another 50-question test to take, this time written. Then, while on camera, Drewien and the other auditioners played a mock game against each other and answered interview questions.

“They said I passed and was entered into the contestant pool for up to 18 months, and they would call me if they wanted me on the show,” Drewien said. “Eighteen months came and went, and I took the online test again, but received no response.”

Last summer, he received a call from Sony Pictures. They wanted to book him for a Sept. 28 taping of the show.

At his own expense, he flew to Los Angeles and stayed with his sister who lives there.

“The ‘Jeopardy!’ team tapes five shows, a whole week’s worth, in one day,” Drewien said.

That means, along with all the questions and answers, there are a lot of wardrobe changes for ‘Jeopardy!’ contestants and host Alex Trebek.

“You have to bring three changes of clothes in case you keep winning, so it appears you came back the next day,” Drewien said. “Alex goes off-stage and changes his suit between each show.”

At the end of the taping, the show pays for the champion to return the following week to continue competing.

The shows are taped about four months in advance, Drewien said, and contestants receive their winnings after the air date.

People will have to tune in Friday to see how Drewien did.

“Once you appear on Jeopardy!, you can never appear again. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Drewien said. “The best part was actually meeting Alex Trebek. He is such an interesting guy, and has a great sense of humor you don’t really get to see on television. I really wish I could hang out and have a beer with him.”