LeVar Burton shares his thoughts after recording guest-hosting episodes of Jeopardy!

LeVar Burton hosts Jeopardy!

JULY 26, 2021 - He’s jumped out of airplanes and walked over hot coals, but Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Geordi La Forge, LeVar Burton, found hosting Jeopardy! a “real challenge” and “really, really, really scary.”

Yes, this is the week that Burton is taking his turn guest hosting the iconic game show and vying to become only the third host of the show since it began in 1964, following Art Fleming and, of course, Alex Trebek. Trebek hosted Jeopardy! for the better part of four decades, from 1984 until shortly before his death last year. As part of the guest-hosting gig, Jeopardy! will also match this week’s winnings to benefit Burton’s chosen charity, Reading Is Fundamental.

Burton spoke with the Associated Press last week after pre-recording his episodes. He had let the producers know of his interest in hosting, but his candidacy was also supported by a petition drive, which has garnered more than 250,000 signatures to date.

Burton said he had one day of rehearsal then, the next day, he filmed five back-to-back episodes. His wife, Stephanie Cozart Burton, was there to do his makeup and ended up coaching him after the first episode didn’t turn out to their liking. He told himself, “You’re not going to be as 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.”

Burton sees the show as an opportunity to bring something educational as well as entertaining, like his other work. And he said that for the next host to be a person of color would be yet another first that would say something about us and be an opportunity to continue the conversations around whiteness as the normative default.

To read Burton’s full interview, head on over to APnews.com, and to find out how to watch Jeopardy! this week, with LeVar Burton hosting, visit jeopardy.com/watch.