*LeVar Burton’s dream job of hosting “Jeopardy!” was crushed by the game show’s producers but he’s still eyeing a gig in the game show circuit.
As reported by The New York Post, Burton, 64, is teaming up with Entertainment One to create a game show based on Hasbro’s famed Trivial Pursuit. Per the report, Hasbro purchased Entertainment One for $3.8 billion in 2019. Burton will host the series and executive produce along with producers Tara Long and Geno McDermott from eOne and Sangita Patel from LeVar Burton Entertainment.
Long said in a statement, “LeVar Burton has been an iconic member of American pop culture for decades from ‘Roots’ to ‘Reading Rainbow’ to ‘Star Trek’ and beyond. His love for intellectual curiosity paired with his ability to connect with audiences worldwide make him the perfect partner to bring Hasbro’s beloved trivia game to households in a new and exciting way.”
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“Trivial Pursuit is one of the best-known brands in the gaming universe. I am thrilled to have partnered with Hasbro and eOne to bring this beloved game to market as a premium show for television,” Burton said.
Burton opened up to The New York Times about his campaign to be the next host of Jeopardy! after the late Alex Trebek, but producers of the beloved game show never seriously considered him for the role. Burton did a guest-hosting stint this summer and later spoke about the challenges of the job.
“This was a real challenge,” he told the Associated Press. “You’re not going to be smooth as Alex, let go of that. But what you can bring to the table is you. So that became my point of focus. And when it did, I started having fun.”
“The pressure, the natural tendency was to want to live up to Alex’s example, his legacy,” Burton said. “I came backstage after taping the first episode and I said to [my wife] Stephanie, ‘Well, how did I do?’”
“She said, ‘Ehhh,’” Burton recalled. He described the experience as “really, really, really scary.”
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