LeVar Burton is set to guest host Jeopardy after a petition called for him to permanently host the popular game show.
The Reading Rainbow icon expressed his desire to replace Alex Trebek who sadly passed away from pancreatic cancer last year.
There has been a rotation of guest hosts in the meantime, and a replacement hasn’t been named yet.
Burton took to social media to launch a campaign for the position with a petition on Change.org that garnered over 250,000 signatures.
The petition reads, “Between hosting 21 seasons of the educational Reading Rainbow, playing the brainiac engineer Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: the Next Generation, and filling the roll of Kunta Kinte in the ever important mini-series Roots, LeVar Burton has inspired and shaped the minds of several generations of trivia-loving nerds. This petition is to show Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and producers Mike Richards and Harry Friedman just how much love the public has for Burton, and how much we’d all love to see him as the next host of Jeopardy!”
LeVar Burton doubled down on his statement and said he’s “really, really, really serious” about hosting Jeopardy! on USA Today’s The Mothership Podcast.
“This is something that I really think is a good idea. I think it’s a good fit of what the show is, what the show requires and what I feel like I bring to the table.” He added that he wanted to give “justice to the legacy of Alex.”
What are your thoughts on LeVar hosting the game show? Do you think he got what it takes? Let us know in the comments.
