‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Wanted Levar Burton to Host the Show
A poll showed that fans wished LeVar Burton replaced Alex Trebek as the new host on Jeopardy!, he got 14 percent of the votes against host Mike Richards, who only got 3 percent. The actor had a trial run as guest host in June but ended up having lower viewership.
According to a new Morning Consult poll, LeVar Burton garnered 14 percent of the votes, with only 3 percent of the votes for newly picked host Mike Richards as the best replacement for Alex Trebek. So, LeVar Burton, the Star Trek actor, was the fan’s top pick for Jeopardy! host.
The poll asked the audience to name their first choice of guest hosts to become the show’s permanent host.
The #Jeopardy fan poll had LeVar Burton as the ultimate favorite to take over as permanent host with Mayim Bialik as a close second. So, y’all choose Bialik and the LOWEST poll person in Mike Richards to be double hosts pic.twitter.com/GCjYJnzmq3
— Moji Oderinde (@mojipov) August 20, 2021
Burton’s position as guest host lasted from July 26 to July 30, coinciding with the openings of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. This resulted in Jeopardy! ‘s lowest ratings among all guest hosts so far.
More than 260,000 hopeful fans signed a petition to make Burton the new host of Jeopardy! However, Richards claims he did not know about it “until three days before” filming.
LeVar Burton is the best host for any generation. #Jeopardy #JeopardyHost pic.twitter.com/9HsXS3Qkmf
— Jacob Barton- Bro – Dude 🇺🇸🇮🇱 (@ArcherJacob95) August 19, 2021
Furthermore, over half of the respondents said: “the new hosts made them neither more nor less interested in watching the game show.”
Richards has other experiences with TV Shows. For example, he hosted The Pyramid and Beauty and the Geek, as well as serving as executive producer of The Price Is Right and Let’s Make a Deal.
why didn’t they pick LeVar Burton?
— Casey Neistat (@Casey) August 19, 2021
Richards, who is the Jeopardy‘s executive producer, presented beside his colleague, Mayim Bialik. The actress covers prime-time and spin-off Jeopardy! specials.
Thou shalt make Levar Burton the host of Jeopardy!
— God (@thegoodgodabove) August 20, 2021
The Lord has spoken!
Richards recently has come under fire for sexist, antisemitic, and racist comments on the podcast, The Randumb Show. He was the host of the podcast during 2013 and 2014. There, Richards made several inappropriate comments to his co-hosts and assistants on the show.
If everyone wanted LeVar Burton to host Jeopardy and LeVar Burton wanted to host Jeopardy, maybe the guy with a sketchy past who no one wanted wasn’t the right choice after all.
— Bryan Behar (@bryanbehar) August 20, 2021
Due to his past, Mike Richards quits Jeopardy! after a week, and the show is now looking for a new substitute. But, he will remain as executive producer.
Jeopardy now has another chance to make the right choice and hire LeVar Burton. https://t.co/zNeRFg7cUj
— Rep. Omari Hardy (@OmariJHardy) August 20, 2021
Alex Trebek hosted “Jeopardy!” for more than 36 years before he passed away in November at 80-years-old from pancreatic cancer after a two-year struggle.
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