Jeopardy Petition Calls For LeVar Burton To Be The Next Host

Alex Trebek became synonymous with Jeopardy! over the years of his three-decade run as host of the classic game show. Due to his recent passing, a new host will eventually have to step into the role as host, and there is a petition created by Joshua Sanders that recommends LeVar Burton for the position. Burton is beloved thanks to his 21 years of hosting the PBS classic Reading Rainbow, as well as his work in the Star Trek franchise, Roots, and contributions to shows like The Big Bang Theory, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, and more. The petition is looking to get 10,000 signatures and already has 8,656 of them, and you can find the full description of the petition 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 producer 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!”

You can see why many are rallying around Burton as the new host, though it’s unclear when Jeopardy! plans to announce a new host or resume filming.

The official Jeopardy! account shared a touching tribute to Trebek from executive producer Mike Richards,, which you can find below.

“I’m Mike Richards, the executive producer of Jeopardy. Over the weekend we lost our beloved host, Alex Trebek. This is an enormous loss for our staff and crew, for his family, and for his millions of fans. He loved this show, and everything it stood for. In fact, he taped his final episodes less than two weeks ago. He will forever be an inspiration for his constant desire to learn, his kindness, and for his love of his family. We will air his final 35 episodes as they were shot, that’s what he wanted. On behalf of everyone here at Jeopardy, thank you for everything Alex, This is Jeopardy.”

As Richards said in the video, there are still 35 episodes already filmed with Trebek that have yet to be released, but they will release them as they were filmed.