On Christmas Eve in 2021, while donning matching pajamas, the Jorgensen family recorded an audition tape for a TV game show.
About six months later, in June 2022, the Jorgensens found themselves on the set of “Family Feud” competing for cash and a new car as cameras rolled.
During the game show, which is hosted by Steve Harvey, a family competes against another family to guess the most popular answers to survey questions. A player from each team initially faces off, answering a question to earn the chance to either pass or play. The family who wins the most points in the game has a chance to earn extra cash during a bonus round called Fast Money.
The five family members who appeared as contestants for the Jorgensens were team captain Eric Jorgensen, a graduate of Lanier High School who now works as a lawyer for GMKE in Duluth; Eric’s mother, local dentist Dr. Bridgett Jorgensen, who established North Gwinnett Dental Care, now located in downtown Sugar Hill, in 1994; Eric’s father, Allen Jorgensen, a dentistry consultant; Eric’s sister, Delaney Spaulding, a North Gwinnett High School graduate who owns a dental practice in Birmingham, Alabama; and Eric’s cousin, Megan Lewis, a New York resident who filled in for a family member who couldn’t attend the taping.
“I was hesitant when my son suggested sending in the tape, but I wanted to support my family,” Allen said. “After the interview and selection process, it was pretty exciting but nothing prepared us for the actual days of shooting.”
Over the course of the competition, which was filmed over two days, the Jorgensens won five games, reaching the win limit.
“We never thought we would win even one!” Bridgett said.
“We did not go there with any expectation of winning,” Allen added. “We just wanted to enjoy the experience.”
“We really had to get in the right mindset for the game and try to understand what the average person would think of,” Megan said.
The most interesting aspect of the show for the Jorgensens’ matriarch was meeting the competitors.
“You are in a fairly small room with them all day,” Bridgett said, “so once you are competing against them it feels like they are friends and you don’t want them to feel bad if they lose.”
Bridgett was also surprised by how long the game show’s crews worked.
“We had to be there at 7 a.m. and they were there before us and the two days we filmed,” she said. “We were there till after 8 p.m., which means they were there even later.”
Bridgett also had compliments for the comedic “Family Feud” host.
“Steve Harvey is a hoot,” she said, “and talks to the audience a lot during filming.”
Both Megan and Allen used the same word to describe their game show appearances.
“Being on (Family Feud) was such an amazing experience,” Megan said. “My face and hands hurt from all the smiling, laughing, and clapping.”
“It was an amazing, once in a lifetime experience,” Allen added.
Clips from the Jorgensen family’s episodes can be viewed on the “Family Feud” channel on YouTube, @familyfeud.
