Jeopardy! fans have started a petition to make LeVar Burton the show's new host, and it seems as though Burton is on board. Earlier this week, the beloved Alex Trebek passed away from pancreatic cancer. Fans and celebrities have been mourning for the past few days, proving the impact Trebek left by being such a captivating host. And although people deserve more time to grieve Trebek's death, there is a fair question floating around in the wake of his passing: who will host Jeopardy! next? Which celebrities are well-calibrated and skilled enough to take on this popular role?
One top contender right now is Ken Jennings, who could naturally take on the role of show host after being Jeopardy!'s "Greatest of All Time" winner and joining the show a few months ago as a consulting producer. Other names that people have suggested include George Stephanopoulos from ABC News, Laura Coates from TMZ, and even the polarizing Alex Jones, host of an extremely far-right news podcast. Most recently, people have rallied behind LeVar Burton, who is already a household name after hosting Reading Rainbow for 20 years, starring in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and having several cameos in shows like The Big Bang Theory and Community.
Fans are so committed to making him host that they started a petition on Change.org, which caught Burton's attention. The petition points out that Burton would do a great job of hosting due to his popularity, not just as an actor but also as a person who encourages others to learn. The petition, which Joshua Sanders started, was shared on Twitter by Burton, who expressed appreciation for his fans' support regardless of the petition's outcome. You can read the petition description and Burton's endorsement below:
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. This petition is to show Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and producers Mike Richards and Harry Friedman just how much love the public has for Burton, and how much we'd all love to see him as the next host of Jeopardy!
The petition has very quickly gained traction. Three days after it was made, the petition surpassed its goal for 10,000 signatures. Right now, they are working towards 25,000 signatures, but that number could easily be exceeded again. Sanders commented under the petition, saying that he did not expect it to take off the way it had when he drafted it.
As of yet, Jeopardy! has not publicly acknowledged this petition or mentioned Burton becoming the show's new host, but it would be hard to ignore a group of 20,000+ (and growing) who say there is one particular person right for the job. Seeing as how quickly things can go viral on the internet, this petition will likely reach more and more people in the following days, possibly leading to LeVar Burton becoming the next host of Jeopardy!
Source: LeVar Burton, Change.org