Following the death of the long-running quiz show’s host Alex Trebeck back in November, Burton has been a steady favorite to take over the gig with a huge fan campaign in support.
The show has seen a roster of rotating hosts this season with Burton hosting recently along with Richards, Anderson Cooper, Aaron Rodgers, Ken Jennings, Katie Couric, Bill Whitaker, Dr. Mehmet Oz, George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts, Savannah Guthrie, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and more.
However, it has now been reported that Richards, an executive producer on the quiz show, is in advanced negotiations to become the permanent host of the beloved show.
Per Variety, Sony Pictures said discussions were ongoing with several potential candidates.
“YALL COULD HAVE A WHOLE ICONIC LEVAR BURTON BUT YOU PICKING CHAD MCWHITERSON FOR… WHAT???” tweeted author Luvvie Ajayi.
While activist Charlotte Clymer added: “LeVar Burton should be the next host of “Jeopardy!” I can’t believe we’re even having this discussion. He’s the obvious choice.”
“LEVAR BURTON DID NOT GET HIS RIGHT FOOT CUT OFF, BE THE ENGINEER OF A WHOLE-ASS STARSHIP, OR TEACH THE ENTIRE WORLD TO READ JUST SO YALL COULD DO THIS SHIT,” said writer James III referring to Burton’s past roles on Roots and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
While publicist Danny Deraney tweeted: “Everyone: We would love to have Levar Burton host of Jeopardy. “Levar Burton: Yes please. “Jeopardy: We will give the job to the guy who hosted Beauty and the Geek, Mike Richards.”
Perhaps most frustratingly for his fans, Burton himself has openly shared his wish to become the host and is passionate about getting the job.
“I think I could continue his legacy, I think I would do it proud,” Burton said in an interview with Newsweek in April. “Yeah, I think I would bring myself and my skills and my life experience. I believe that I will be honoring Alex’s legacy by standing on the podium.”
As for the huge fan support, Burton said he felt “buoyed” by it.
“I’m not the only one,” he continued. “And I think that’s because it feels as right to them perhaps as it does to me. It just feels like a good fit—it feels like the right thing.
“When I think about it, when I contemplate it’s like yeah, ’that makes sense.'”
A new poll conducted by OnePoll found that Jennings is the favorite among Americans to get the job, followed by Richards, then Burton in third place.
