LeVar Burton As 'Jeopardy!' Permanent Host Petition Poses Threat to Other Aspirants
LeVar Burton is becoming more dangerous as days go by while his fans still do not give up on making him a permanent host on "Jeopardy!"
Sony Pictures Television named Mayim Bialik and Mike Richards as the permanent hosts after a series of guest hosts took over to lead the show. However, the latter has since left the offer due to the reemergence of his past scandals and people's disapproval.
The selection indeed made viewers disappointed, as neither Burton nor Ken Jennings made it to the list.
Regardless of that, Burton's supporters continue to highlight the 64-year-old actor's capabilities that a petition for him unceasingly receives more signature.
Make LeVar Burton the Permanent Host of "Jeopardy!"
On change.org's page "Make LeVar Burton the next host of Jeopardy!," over 283,000 people already signed up to show support to the previous guest host.
The page also prompts that if the appeal reaches 300,000 signatures, it will become one of the top-signed petitions on the site.
The campaign, which still has not been taken down despite the show's decision, explained that Burton deserves the position compared to other celebrities.
"Between hosting 21 seasons of the educational Reading Rainbow, playing the brainiac engineer Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: the Next Generation, and filling the roll of Kunta Kinte in the ever important mini-series Roots, LeVar Burton has inspired and shaped the minds of several generations of trivia-loving nerds," the description says.
Burton previously campaigned himself to be Trebek's successor, sharing the petition on his Twitter account and hoping the "powers" to listen. The host wannabe also revealed to Newsweek that he would be honoring Trebek's legacy if he stands on the podium.
For what it's worth, the fan who made the appeal addressed it to Sony Pictures Entertainment, Harry Friedman, and Mike Richards.
However, now that Richards is also out of the show as the executive producer, it will be up to the two remaining decision-makers whether to consider him or not.
Amid the hosting fiasco, former "Jeopardy!" champion Arthur Chu was among the people who spoke up about the thing that went wrong on the show.
"Jeopardy! is changing, and the show threatens to destroy its own appeal by abandoning the unvarying formula we've come to depend on and sidelining the people who most make it succeed," he revealed on The Washington Post.
