Chicago Fire's Jeff Hephner Now Hosts A Game Show

Jeff Hephner had a pretty impressive resume before joining the "One Chicago" franchise as Jeff Clarke. He appeared on Season 3 of "The O.C." as Matt Ramsey and had various one-off parts in several other series. But it's safe to say most people will likely recognize him for showing up on 20 episodes of "Chicago Fire" as well as 16 episodes of "Chicago Med," becoming an integral part of the respective teams before leaving both shows in 2017. He's kept busy since that time, even landing the role of a congressman in "Oppenheimer."

However, in addition to acting in TV shows and period dramas, he can also add something rather unique to his resume — game show host. Late in 2022, Deadline reported how Hephner was tapped to lead a new series on the Game Show Network in 2023 called "Switch." Each episode has five players assume positions behind numbers between one and five. After each question, players with correct answers move toward one, while players with incorrect answers move toward five. Whoever's in the number one spot at the end of three rounds of questioning has the chance to play the bonus round to try to win $10,000.

Acting in serious dramas certainly sounds like hard work, but hosting a game show brings its own challenges to performers. In shows, Jeff Hephner will be backed up by a supporting cast, but on the show, it's all him for the most part. He does get to interact with the contestants, and during an interview with KOIN 6 in Portland, he raved about some of the people they've gotten on the show. He commended some of the people for being so witty to the point where he found it difficult to read from his cards because he was laughing so much. 

He also recommended the show to entire families, pointing out how his kids would watch the show and shout out the answers at home. But really, anyone can enjoy the program, from kids to grandparents, so hopefully, that will entice enough people to give it a go on the Game Show Network.

While hosting duties seem like they would take up a lot of time, Hephner hasn't walked away from acting entirely. In 2023, he appeared as Detective Kevin Whitman in "Power Book II: Ghost." He's also starred in a few episodes of the hit Apple TV+ series "For All Mankind." Hephner isn't short on work these days, and with his gig on "Switch," it's easier than ever to see him, which airs weeknights at 7:00 p.m. on the Game Show Network.