LeVar Burton, the former host of “Reading Rainbow” and a star of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” is among the final group of “Jeopardy!” guest hosts selected for the rest of season 37 of the show.
LeVar Burton is one of five guest hosts will will be rotated through season 37 until “Jeopardy!” finds a permanent host for next season.
Other guest hosts include “Good Morning America” anchors George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts, CNBC host David Faber and sportscaster Joe Buck.
“THANK YOU… to all y’all for your passionate support! I am overjoyed, excited, and eager to be guest-hosting Jeopardy!, and will do my utmost best to live up to your faith you in me,” LeVar Burton tweeted after the announcement.
Burton’s fans have been pushing for him to be the next permanent host of “Jeopardy!” and even started a petition for the spot.
“Between hosting 21 seasons of the educational Reading Rainbow, playing the brainiac engineer Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: the Next Generation, and filling the roll of Kunta Kinte in the ever important mini-series Roots, LeVar Burton has inspired and shaped the minds of several generations of trivia-loving nerds,” the petition says.
The petition has more than 245,000 signatures with a goal of 300,000 signatures.
The New York Public Library also backed Burton for the position.
“Jeopardy!” is looking for a new host after beloved longtime host Alex Trebek died of pancreatic cancer last year.
Burton’s supporters expressed their support for the announcement and pushed for him to become a permanent host.
Burton responded with a heart emoji to Joshua Dubois’s tweet calling for Burton to be the permanent host.