LeVar Burton is busy. The 12-time Emmy Award-winning, Hollywood Walk of Fame Star-having, Reading Rainbow legend does not have a moment left to waste on Jeopardy! after their infamous snub of him as a potential host, the distinguished multi-hyphenate revealed in an interview Thursday, September 16. Fans may be disappointed to learn that the actor-director is moving on from including the longtime quiz competition in his future plans, but they shouldn’t rule him out just yet. On an episode of The Daily Show, LeVar spoke with Trevor Noah about the love he’s received from fans and what’s next for him.
“I never thought about hosting any other game show outside of Jeopardy! But now, they went in a different direction with their show, which is their right, and now I’m thinking, well, it does kind of make sense, let me see what I can do. So we’re trying to figure out what the right game show for LeVar Burton would be,” LeVar revealed to the comedy news host. Plans for the potential game show project are still under wraps. The 64-year old Hollywood staple has a production company called RRKIDZ, born out of his time on the long-running PBS children’s program, that would produce the series.
LeVar also told Noah that while the Jeopardy! hosting gig was a job that he initially wanted, sometimes things change along the way and can lead one to even better opportunities. “The crazy thing is that when you set your sights on something, you know, they say be careful of what you wish for, because what I found out is that it wasn’t the thing that I wanted after all,” Burton said. “What I wanted was to compete. I mean, I wanted the job, right, but then, when I didn’t get it, it was, like, well, okay, what’s next? And, so, the opportunities that have come my way as a result of not getting that gig, I couldn’t have dreamt it up. If you had given me a pen and paper and said, well, so what do you want this to really look like? If it doesn’t include Jeopardy! I wouldn’t have been this generous to myself.”
Also revealed on Sept. 16 was news that current temporary host Mayim Bialik will be joined by former Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings to host the series for the rest of the year, as the game show continues to search for a permanent host. The update comes after the previously announced host, executive producer Mike Richards, stepped down in August following the discovery of past offensive comments which resulted in a public relations disaster for the long-running game show. A months-long search was launched following the death of Alex Trebek, who died on November 8, 2020 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.