After a months long fan campaign, LeVar Burton finally got his shot at the Jeopardy! podium when he filled in as guest host during the last week of July. However, that short stint is apparently not translating to a permanent gig as reports started coming in on Wednesday evening that Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards is in “advanced negotiations” to replace the late Alex Trebek.
While that deal is not closed, and other candidates are reportedly is in the mix, Richards is “clearly the front-runner,” according to Jeopardy! sources who spoke with Variety. That news did not go over well with Burton fans, who had campaigned aggressively to get the former Reading Rainbow host onto the hit game show, only to watch him get passed over for an executive producer. That anger was not helped by the fact that Burton only got a one-week guest host stint while others had received two.
You can see some of the reactions below, and there are plenty more where these came from:
https://twitter.com/James3rdComedy/status/1423067808968024066
LeVar Burton is the only host we recognizing. pic.twitter.com/9USpC5UAs7
— Ahmed Ali (@DrAhmednurAli) August 5, 2021
Everyone: We would love to have Levar Burton host of Jeopardy.
Levar Burton: Yes please.
Jeopardy: We will give the job to the guy who hosted Beauty and the Geek, Mike Richards.
— Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) August 4, 2021
https://twitter.com/EricHaywood/status/1423048471267844100
https://twitter.com/MsPackyetti/status/1423092871025074180
https://twitter.com/meena/status/1423088793716883458
jeopardy: we're searching for a new host
everyone: ok we want @levarburton
j: we want to see who the audience responds to best
e: we ❤ levar
j: if only we had some idea who to choose
e: le👏 var👏 bur👏 ton👏
j: congrats to mike richards
e: that's not how you spell levar
— Fretty “taken into account” Boop (@i_miss_the_days) August 4, 2021
https://twitter.com/marcbernardin/status/1423047765739786241
Side eying Jeopardy so hard through my VISOR right now. LeVar Burton is the obvious choice here, and I also really enjoyed Mayim Bialik. This guy was unremarkable. https://t.co/sqyV1VrTeq
— Tim Hanley (@timhanley01) August 4, 2021
On a positive note, Burton’s time on Jeopardy! did earn a nice chunk of change for his charity of choice, Reading Is Fundamental. Despite only being on the show for a week, the children’s literacy organization walked away with $204,800 thanks to Burton’s time at the podium