COMICSANDS
percolately
georgetakei
secondnexus
george's picks
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. https://t.co/9USpC5UAs7— Ahmed Ali (@Ahmed Ali) 1628129008.0
Everyone: We would love to have Levar Burton host of Jeopardy. Levar Burton: Yes please. Jeopardy: We will give… https://t.co/qN9n3JrSe5— Danny Deraney (@Danny Deraney) 1628119198.0
YALL COULD HAVE A WHOLE ICONIC LEVAR BURTON BUT YOU PICKING CHAD MCWHITERSON FOR... WHAT??? https://t.co/Ks2I7ymhYi— Luvvie is the #ProfessionalTroublemaker (@Luvvie is the #ProfessionalTroublemaker) 1628118890.0
Some even pointed to what they felt was an unfair playing field.
@Variety Levar Burton was given 1 week, instead of the 2 weeks every other guest host had. And, his week was during… https://t.co/Zl4ZLt26px— Bipolar Bitch in Texas 🙋🏾♀️ 🐝💛 (@Bipolar Bitch in Texas 🙋🏾♀️ 🐝💛) 1628115531.0
@Variety LeVar Burton was undermined (given only one week to host, and hosted during the Olympics) after Jeopardy p… https://t.co/Ezq9i6u228— ᴊᴇʟᴀ (@ᴊᴇʟᴀ) 1628117642.0
Months of guest hosting from the likes of @levarburton and @katiecouric ... all to pick the show's current executiv… https://t.co/Dlyzq7ayeY— Melissa Murray (@Melissa Murray) 1628124305.0
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’ve won. The outpouring of love and suppo… https://t.co/Gfi1BmOBUc— LeVar Burton (@LeVar Burton) 1628178034.0
Perhaps there will be another show lucky enough to rely on Burton to steer the ship.