Maybe it was the public campaign. Or maybe just because it makes sense. No matter the reason, beloved actor, storyteller and human being LeVar Burton will be a guest host on Jeopardy!.
The long-running game show announced the final five guest hosts for Season 37, which has been the first since the death of Alex Trebek on Nov. 8, 2020.
Along with Burton, the final round of guest hosts will include ABC News anchor Robin Roberts, former political operative and current ABC News host George Stephanopoulos, CNBC anchor David Faber, and Fox Sports broadcaster Joe Buck.
All of those are perfectly fine additions to the guest host roster, which already has included former Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings, producer Mike Richards, journalist Katie Couric, TV doctor Mehmet Oz, NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper — all of whom brought their own personalities to the show, to varying degrees of success. And still to come are 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker, actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik, NBC News' Savannah Guthrie, and CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
But none (save for perhaps Rodgers) has gotten the sort of internet boost to host the show than Burton. A petition at Change.org garnered more than 245,000 online signatures before Wednesday's news, and Burton thanked folks on Twitter for the support.
Burton, of course, is the longtime actor who got his start as a teenager as Junta Kinte in the Roots TV miniseries in 1977. He also served as the host of the beloved children's series Reading Rainbow from 1983 to 2006. Meanwhile, he served as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge in the syndicated Star Trek: The Next Generation, as well as in the films that followed. In addition to his TV and film work, Burton also hosts the Levar Burton Reads podcast.
Here's the schedule for the remaining guest hosts for Season 37:
- Anderson Cooper: April 19-30
- Bill Whitaker: May 3-14
- Mayim Bialik, May 31-June 11
- Savannah Guthrie, June 14-June 25
- Sanjay Gupta: June 28-July 9
- George Stephanopoulos: July 12-16
- Robin Roberts: July 19-July 23
- LeVar Burton: July 26-July 30
- David Faber: Aug. 2-6
- Joe Buck: Aug. 9-13
