Jeopardy!: Stephen Colbert Has Perfect Idea for Why LeVar Burton Should Host

Jeopardy! fans are still waiting to hear who will permanently replace beloved host, Alex Trebek, [...]

By Jamie Jirak

Jeopardy! fans are still waiting to hear who will permanently replace beloved host, Alex Trebek, who passed away last year at age 80 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. There has already been a slew of interim hosts, including "Greatest of All Time" winner Ken Jennings, series executive producer Mike Richards, TV presenter Katie Couric, and Dr. Oz. Others will appear as the game show's host in the coming months, including 60 Minutes host Bill Whitaker, The Big Bang Theory's Mayim Bialik, and presenters Anderson Cooper, Savannah Guthrie, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta. However, there's one person many folks are hoping to see on the list, and that's LeVar Burton. The actor has gotten some big endorsements, including one from Dick Van Dyke. Recently, Stephen Colbert provided a suggestion for Burton, and it's sure to make any Star Trek fan's day.

"I think LeVar Burton should host Jeopardy! As Geordi La Forge. And the buzzers should be phasers. And Data should be the judge. And it should be in space. And just be Star Trek," Colbert wrote. You can view his tweet below:

This week, Burton shared a petition that's been going around, which asks that Jeopardy! give him a chance at the job.

"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 role 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 petition's description reads. "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!"

Before his passing, Trebek made it clear that he planned to stay on Jeopardy! "as long as [his] skills have not diminished". In fact, he filmed 35 episodes that had yet to air before he died. However, Trebek had been asked in the past whether or not he will take part in deciding his eventual replacement. "It's not a decision that would be up to me. And I would not make myself available to presenting an opinion," Trebek told TVLine at the Television Critics Association winter press tour last January. "I would leave it up to the people in charge."

Would you like to see Burton take over as Jeopardy! host? Tell us in the comments!

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