Jeopardy Trends #1 After LeVar Burton’s First Episode

The week that many fans had been waiting for finally arrived and the furor could be felt across social media, LeVar Burton finally made his debut as a guest host for Jeopardy! Both Burton and the game show began to trend online (along with Burton’s previous series “Reading Rainbow”) while his episode aired with Jeopardy! itself leaping to the #1 trending topic in the United States and #2 worldwide. The enthusiasm was prevalent online with many calling for Burton to be named the full-time host of the show, something that has been lobbied by some since the late Alex Trebek passed away. We’ve collected some of the reactions to LeVar Burton’s Jeopardy! episode below.

“I’ve thought and thought and thought — I’ve asked friends and family to help me identify someone out there who’s more qualified for the job than I am,” Burton previously told Entertainment Weekly. “I don’t believe there is anyone out there who is better suited for this job than me. And I will go to my grave believing that… I think my whole career is an advertisement for being the host of Jeopardy.”

Burtons’ tenure as a guest host comes after a series of others stepped behind the lectern for the Sony Television game show including Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, TV personality Anderson Cooper, and Jeopardy! “GOAT” Ken Jennings.

Series executive producer Mike Richards said previously in an interview with Deadline that they wouldn’t be naming a permanent new host for some time and that not every guest host was up for the role.

“Not everyone who comes on is auditioning,” Richards said earlier this year. “We are going to go in a lot of different directions, I don’t think we want to be in a hurry to name a new person. We all are still mourning the loss — certainly I am — of Alex, and I think just turning around and naming someone would be irresponsible and not thoughtful, which is antithesis of Jeopardy!”

Burton’s episodes as host of Jeopardy! are scheduled to air the last week of July.

Made for this

Watching for LeVar

Hope he becomes the official host

We want LeVar

For the people in the back

Great energy

A wonderful successor

First time since Trebek’s last episode

Restore the faith

Love his pacing, his candor, his humility