Owensboro was represented on national TV Monday night when Owensboro Catholic High School graduate Andrew Murphy appeared as a contestant during an episode of NBC’s new game show The Wheel.
Murphy was born in South Korea and adopted at 4 months old by his parents, Scott and Leanne Murphy of Owensboro. From the time he was an infant until he graduated from OCHS in 2005, Murphy spent his entire childhood in Owensboro.
Murphy is now an education policymaker and nonprofit leader who lives in Los Angeles. He’s a graduate of the University of Louisville (bachelor’s degree), University of Nevada-Las Vegas and Seoul National University (master’s degrees) and will graduate with his doctorate in education from Loyola Marymount University in May. In his free time, he’s involved in LA local politics and civic activism.
“While I live in LA now, I visit every year and talk with my parents regularly,” Murphy said. “They are such wonderful people — very involved in their church and in volunteering. Any good qualities I have, I attribute all to them.”
The Wheel is an adaptation of the popular British trivia-based game show of the same name that first aired in 2020. It was created and hosted by British comedian Michael McIntyre, who also hosts the American version.
During each hour-long episode, three contestants compete for a chance to win more than $100,000. Each episode has six celebrity guests — each with a designated area of “expertise” — who can help the contestant answer questions and build up the pot.
NBC’s version of the series launched on December 19 and aired the first five episodes last week. The remaining five are being aired this week, and Murphy appeared on Monday’s episode.
“I met a casting agent who had recruited me for a dating show. While I wasn’t cast for that show, we developed a great rapport and they reached out to me and asked if I’d be interested in going on a game show,” Murphy said. “After going through a screening and interview process, I was fortunate to be chosen for The Wheel. Living in Los Angeles, I have always been curious how TV production works, so I both wanted that behind-the-scenes experience, while also definitely wanting to win some money.”
In the opening segment of the episode, Murphy was introduced as being from Owensboro. He was the second contestant to take the main stage in the episode.
During the show, Murphy interacted with celebrity guests Deepak Chopra, Raven-Symoné, and Bre-Z. Other celebrities on the episode included Matt Iseman, Terrell Owens, and Carole Baskin.
“In LA, I do bump shoulders with celebrities from time to time, but The Wheel was a whole different experience because we were working to answer questions together on the show,” Murphy said. “My father is a huge NFL fan, so I loved meeting Terrell Owens, and I really admire Raven-Symoné, so seeing both of them when I popped up from under The Wheel was a great surprise.”
Murphy was grateful for the experience on all levels, praising the professionalism and helpfulness of the entire production crew.
“They took care of me from the moment I stepped on set all the way to the end of shooting,” he said. “For one day, I really felt like a star. (And even had my own dressing room, which was a first.) The people working on the set were all very friendly and made everything a really fun experience. Being on a show feels like something everyone should try at least once.”
Anyone interested in Murphy’s episode, titled Big Cats and Bigger Brains, or other previously aired episodes can watch them now at nbc.com or on Peacock. For viewers who do not have cable TV, it can be streamed live on YouTube TV with a subscription.
New episodes of The Wheel will continue to air at 7 p.m. nightly through Friday.
The full celebrity guest lineup includes Clay Aiken, Carole Baskin, Brie Bella, Tom Bergeron, Bobby Berk, Bre-Z, Jaime Camil, Christine Chiu, Margaret Cho, Deepak Chopra, Cat Cora, Victor Cruz, Ester Dean, Russell Dickerson, Taye Diggs, Sheila E., Shawn Johnson East, Josh Flagg, Kate Flannery, Vivica A. Fox, Debbie Gibson, Todrick Hall, Tony Hawk, Matt Iseman, Jojo, Chris Kattan, Steve Kornacki, Ricki Lake, Lyric Lewis, Loni Love, Judge Greg Mathis, Mark McGrath, Chrissy Metz, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin, Terrell Owens, Kyla Pratt, Christina Ricci, Andy Richter, Amber Riley, Adam Rippon, Captain Lee Rosbach, Jalen Rose, Sanya Richards Ross, Amber Ruffin, Mark Sanchez, Tori Spelling, Curtis Stone, Raven-Symone, Jackie Tohn, Bruno Tonioli, John Urschel, Buddy Valastro, Kym Whitley, Justin Willman, Carnie Wilson and Captain Sandy Yawn.
