Watch: LeVar Burton Previews This Week’s Run As ‘Jeopardy!’ Guest Host

LeVar Burton hosting Jeopardy! - TrekMovie.com

This week is a fulfillment of a longtime dream for Star Trek: The Next Generation’s LeVar Burton, who steps in as guest host of the venerable game show Jeopardy! on Monday.

Who is LeVar Burton?

LeVar Burton has been talking about hosting Jeopardy! for years and following a fan petition drive, his own campaigning, and some celebrity support he was given his chance. Burton joins the rotation of guest hosts for the current season this week, with hopes it will lead to becoming the full-time host for the next season.

Ahead of his one-week run beginning Monday, July 26, Jeopardy! released a video Q&A with Burton talking about his time behind the podium, revealing he was “petrified” before he started, but he will “walk away happy.”

Burton also spoke to the AP about the “real challenge” of taking on hosting after the passing of the legendary Alex Trebek, and trying to “live up to” Trebek’s “legacy.”

Finally, here is the promo commercial that started airing this weekend.

UPDATE: LeVar was a guest on Good Morning America on Monday.

Click here to find your local station to watch LeVar Burton on Jeopardy!

Preview Burton on Leverage: Redemption

Burton will also be seen in an upcoming episode of the series Leverage: Redemption, a revival of the TNT series Leverage. The series debuted this month on IMDb TV with a new block of episodes being released this fall, including one featuring the former Reading Rainbow host in some on-the-nose casting as a librarian. IMDb TV released a clip from Burton’s episode during Comic-Con@Home.

 


Keep up with Star Trek celebrities at TrekMovie.com.

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I hope he becomes the full time host.
Hopefully, adult viewers today were Reading Rainbow fans, as children.

He’ll be great, is my guess.

Anyone know where/how to watch “Jeopardy” online? (As in: “Not having to subscribe to something just for this week?”) This whole week of shows is going to be pre-empted by my local NBC station because of the Olympics — and recent episodes of the program aren’t included on the game show’s own website.

I’ve occasionally found sites online that make recent episodes available for free but they often get shut down pretty quickly. I’m not sure if it is because of syndication rules or archaic management, but I wish Jeopardy would offer a legitimate online viewing option for fans who love the show but can’t watch it on broadcast TV every day. As a Star Trek fan, I’m rooting for Burton to do a great job. But as a Jeopardy fan my pick for Alex’s replacement is Ken Jennings.

If you can record shows, Jeopardy might just be on a different time for you. My local station is airing them at 4 in the morning, Tues-Sat.

I will always think this is Geordi running a Jeapordy holodeck simulation on his free time.

Perfect!

LOL! I can see that!

You don’t think that the crew will eventually look for him?

Barclay will cover for him

Dwight Shultz would be a good guest host as well.

So fun.

Be smooth. Be suave. Be you. You got this!

I don’t think there is anyone better suited to be a Jeopardy host than Levar Burton.

He deserves it. Watching the videos above I started crying with joy. What a wonderful man. He should get the job for sure.

He was pretty solid in his first go. Definitely could tell he was a bit nervous, but he brings a good energy to the proceedings and I’m sure will get more comfortable as the week progresses.

Yeah I agree, could also sense some nervousness but I’m sure that will go away! Although don’t they tape the episodes like all in one afternoon basically? Either way, so happy for him to be up there! I also wonder how they’re gonna choose who gets the gig permanently. I bet fan interest is driving up viewership this week, and hopefully that will be a boon to his long-term chances.

They do tape them all over the span of a day or two. Not sure if covid protocols changed that at all, but contestants are asked to bring multiple changes of clothing in case they become returning champions.

But I expect Burton only got better the more he did it!

He seemed to mellow a bit over the course of the first show.

He’s clearly excited, stressed and taking great care to make sure everything the pronounced correctly and enunciated well. I can see that it could take a bit to relax into the style and tempo of this show.

Hope he gets serious consideration. Jenning’s performance didn’t really appeal to be at all, and I don’t think that it would be appropriate to award this as some kind of valectorian post.

Yeah I agree that Ken was not my favorite. I remember liking Anderson Cooper, and Robin Roberts is still fresh in my mind and I liked her. I have actually really enjoyed watching all the new hosts this season, it’s made Jeopardy actually interesting again!

The newsreaders were understandably the most at ease with the job (Whitaker and Roberts, especially, Couric not so much). Burton has definitely gotten better with each performance, but might be a little too boisterous for viewers.

Burton’s beard reminds me of the one-episode stint in TNG (The Quality of Life) where Geordi tried out having a beard, leading to some entertaining banter among the crew at poker. He didn’t keep the beard, which was the right decision. Burton’s got a good-looking mug, no need to cover it up with a beard. I’d nix the earring, too. It doesn’t suit him. I did enjoy him as Jeopardy host, though, the aforementioned “affectations” notwithstanding.

He looks great like he has barely aged in 20 years. I Would Love to see him return as Geordi or even behind the camera on Star Trek.