LeVar Burton ‘Will Hurt’ If He Doesn’t Get ’Jeopardy!’ Hosting Gig!

LeVar Burton will not rest until he is named the permanent host of “Jeopardy!”

In a recent interview with The New York Times, the legendary entertainer — who in April was announced as one of the guests hosts of the game show following longtime presenter Alex Trebek’s November 2020 passing — revealed he will be disappointed if he is not offered the full-time gig.

“It will hurt. I’m not going to lie,” the “Roots” actor told the newspaper. “But if that happens, I will get over it. I will be fine. Remember: Everything happens perfectly and for a reason. That is my default. It’s all going to be OK. Because it always is.”

Despite this, the “Reading Rainbow” host believes becoming the next host of “Jeopardy!” is something that “makes sense.”

“I feel like this is what I’m supposed to do,” he continued. “I have been  watching ”Jeopardy!” more or less every night of my life since Art Fleming was host. Jeopardy! is a cultural touchstone, and for a Black man to occupy that podium is significant.”

Burton added, “Look, I have had a career for the [expletive] ages. ‘Roots,’ ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Reading Rainbow.’ Won a Grammy. Got a shelf full of Emmys. I’m a storyteller, and game shows are tremendous stories. There’s a contest, there’s comedy, there’s drama. If you don’t know your [expletive] on Jeopardy!, you’re sunk in full view of the entire nation. The stakes are high. I love that.”

Last year, a Change.org petition was created that encouraged “Jeopardy!” to hire Burton after Trebek’s death.

“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,” organizer Joshua Sanders wrote.

“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!”

Burton went on to share the petition last November and in April, before it was revealed that he would become a guest host on the program.

Despite his efforts, Burton has maintained that he is not trying to replace Trebek, who he has called an “irreplaceable legend.”

“Of course while I’m very flattered by the petition, my thoughts are definitely with Alex Trebeck’s family and his millions of fans and the devastating loss of this irreplaceable legend. #LongLiveAlex,” Burton wrote last November.