This Star Trek legend deserves to be the new host of Jeopardy!.
Who is LeVar Burton?
Following the death of Alex Trebek, Jeopardy! has rotated through celebrity guest hosts instead of settling on a permanent option. Aaron Rodgers has done the best job so far, but Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, Ken Jennings, Katie Couric, Mayim Bialik, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Savannah Guthrie, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta have also all filled in. For the next week, however, it will be fan favorite LeVar Burton behind the host podium.
“One of the things that excites me about it is that it requires such a different skill set—and Alex made it look easy. It was like breathing for him. It’s not easy in the least; I know, I’ve tried,” the Reading Rainbow star told GQ about getting the opportunity to host the game show. “So the challenge of mastering that job of being behind the podium is exciting to me. I relish the challenge.” Burton also said that “knowledge and information” is what most excites him about the job. “That half-hour of television, every evening, is a cultural touchstone in America. And for a Black man to be at that podium — more specifically, for me to be at that podium — it makes a whole lot of sense,” he added.
You can watch Burton’s hype video above, and catch him on Jeopardy! tonight.