The good news: Levar Burton will be joining Jeopardy!‘s rotating door of celebrity guest hosts. The bad news: it’s a temporary gig, which was not what we asked for. The real news: nothing is written in stone. Your votes got Burton this far in the running for a Jeopardy! host — why couldn’t our voices carry him to a full-time gig?
Since the passing of its longtime iconic host Alex Trebek, Jeopardy! has had fun bringing on an eclectic mix of new hosts like Anderson Cooper, Aaron Rodgers and Ken Jennings. But all that time, the real question was when and if they’d pay attention to the viral petition to hire Burton. The beloved Star Trek: The Next Generation actor and Reading Rainbow mastermind appeared to be all the way on board with the idea, signal boosting a petition that has garnered a quarter of a million signatures, as of this writing.
And now, it looks like Jeopardy! has at least sort of heard the call. From July 26 – July 30, Burton has indeed been scheduled to host the show.
It’ll be a sterling addition to an already storied career that not only includes Lt. Commander Geordi LaForge but Kunta Kinte in Roots, all of which has added up to 13 Emmys, a Grammy and a Peabody. Burton was suitably chuffed, tweeting that he is “overjoyed, excited and eager” to get to work. And we can take his word for it.
THANK YOU… to all y’all for your passionate support! I am overjoyed, excited, and eager to be guest-hosting Jeopardy!, and will do my utmost best to live up to your faith you in me. YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE! Go ahead and take my word for it, this time. https://t.co/C7mZWMok2X
— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) April 21, 2021
