Ever since Alex Trebek died last fall after hosting Jeopardy! for a cool 36 years, fans have spent the last eight months speculating about his eventual replacement.
With a revolving door of guest hosts that included former superstar contestants Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer, media personalities Katie Couric and Savannah Guthrie, and even NFL Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, there have been plenty of twists and turns throughout the extended search.
But few possible replacement hosts received quite as much online support as LeVar Burton, known primarily for his role on Star Trek: The Next Generation as well as his 23-years-long stint as the host of children's show Reading Rainbow.
Burton may have had his shot at hosting for a only week in late July, but Twitter was abuzz for months before with people calling for him to be the replacement.
Recently, though, the countless excited hat tips for Burton were deflated when reports began to come out saying longtime Jeopardy! Executive Producer Mike Richards is now in "advanced negotiations," according to Variety.
Not surprisingly, that news has Burton's Twitter fans up in arms, as Uproxx reported.
LeVar Burton is the only host we recognizing.pic.twitter.com/9USpC5UAs7— Ahmed Ali (@Ahmed Ali) 1628129008
Everyone: We would love to have Levar Burton host of Jeopardy.\n\nLevar Burton: Yes please. \n\nJeopardy: We will give the job to the guy who hosted Beauty and the Geek, Mike Richards.— Danny Deraney (@Danny Deraney) 1628119198
Mike Richards in Advanced Negotiations to Become Permanent Host of \u2018Jeopardy!\u2019 (EXCLUSIVE)https://bit.ly/37ihPDp— Variety (@Variety) 1628113981
YALL COULD HAVE A WHOLE ICONIC LEVAR BURTON BUT YOU PICKING CHAD MCWHITERSON FOR... WHAT???https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/mike-richards-jeopardy-host-alex-trebek-1235034673/\u00a0\u2026— Luvvie is the #ProfessionalTroublemaker (@Luvvie is the #ProfessionalTroublemaker) 1628118890
Some even pointed to what they felt was an unfair playing field.
Levar Burton was given 1 week, instead of the 2 weeks every other guest host had. And, his week was during the Olympics, so preempted in a lot of places. This choice is disappointing but not surprising.— Bipolar Bitch in Texas \ud83d\ude4b\ud83c\udffe\u200d\u2640\ufe0f \ud83d\udc1d\ud83d\udc9b (@Bipolar Bitch in Texas \ud83d\ude4b\ud83c\udffe\u200d\u2640\ufe0f \ud83d\udc1d\ud83d\udc9b) 1628115531
LeVar Burton was undermined (given only one week to host, and hosted during the Olympics) after Jeopardy producers dragged their feet into allowing him a chance to host. He deserved better from ABC and Jeopardy— \u1d0a\u1d07\u029f\u1d00 (@\u1d0a\u1d07\u029f\u1d00) 1628117642
Months of guest hosting from the likes of @levarburton and @katiecouric ... all to pick the show's current executive producer? \n\nI'll take Pulling a Dick Cheney for $100, Alex.https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/mike-richards-jeopardy-host-alex-trebek-1235034673/\u00a0\u2026— Melissa Murray (@Melissa Murray) 1628124305
With the frenzied, outraged response not showing any signs of slowing, Burton himself made a statement on Twitter to address the reports.
I have said many times over these past weeks that no matter the outcome, I\u2019ve won. The outpouring of love and support from family, friends, and fans alike has been incredible! If love is the ultimate blessing and I believe that it is, I am truly blessed beyond measure.— LeVar Burton (@LeVar Burton) 1628178034
Perhaps there will be another show lucky enough to rely on Burton to steer the ship.
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