Despite his fan-favorite status, former "Reading Rainbow" presenter LeVar Burton said that his campaign to host long-running game show "Jeopardy!" has come to an end.
In an interview on "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" which aired Thursday, Burton, 64, praised the fans that championed him to host the iconic show after the passing of longtime host Alex Trebek, comparing it to the level of support he received when he launched a "Reading Rainbow" kickstarter a few years ago.
"You know, when we did a Kickstarter several years ago, I discovered then that the generation of adults now, who grew up on 'Reading Rainbow,' they were down with whatever it is I wanted to do, and the same was true with this 'Jeopardy!' thing," Burton said. "I made it public that I wanted it for myself, that it made sense to me, and they were all about it."
"It made as much sense to them as it did to me," the former "Star Trek: The Next Generation" star continued. "And, so, they wanted it for me as much as I wanted it."
"The crazy thing is, is that, you know, when you set your sights on something, you know, they say be careful of what you wish for," Burton added. "Because what I found out is that it wasn't the thing that I wanted after all."
Burton guest hosted the show earlier this summer as the show cycled through a number of prominent fill-in hosts – including Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, "Good Morning America" host Robin Roberts and CNN anchor "Anderson Cooper – as they sought to replace Trebek, who passed away in 2020 after battling pancreatic cancer.
The show's executive producer Mike Richards was eventually named the permanent host of the syndicated daily quiz show, but exited after past misogynistic and disparaging comments surfaced, and was subsequently ousted from his producing role.
Mayim Bialik, who was tapped to jost "Jeopardy!" spinoff series and prime-time specials, and Ken Jennings, who holds the show's record for longest winning streak, will split hosting duties through the end of the year as Sony Pictures Television searches for a permanent host.
A petition to have Burton replace Trebek as the iconic quiz show's host has more than 300,000 signatures.
Burton, who received a Peabody award and 12 Daytime Emmy awards for his work on "Reading Rainbow," also has the endorsement of a number of high-profile individuals for him to host "Jeopardy," including Dick van Dyke, "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, director Ava DuVernay, "The Next Generation" co-stars Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner, "Star Trek: Voyager" star Kate Mulgrew and actor Ryan Reynolds.
"Pretty consistently from 2013 to 2015 Deadpool would explode on Twitter with fans wanting me to play him. It was awkward because I agreed with them but the studio didn’t see it," Reynolds wrote. "Ultimately the fans won and the rest is glorious history. I’m forever grateful. Hi @levarburton"
Burton told Noah that what he wanted "was to compete" for the job, "but then when I didn't get it, it was like, well, okay, what's next?"
"The opportunities that have come my way as a result of not getting that gig, I couldn't have dreamt it up," he continued, adding: "If you had given me a pen and paper and said, 'Well, so what do you want this to really look like, if it doesn't include 'Jeopardy!'? I wouldn't have been this generous to myself."
Burton agreed with Noah's assessment that it was "the shipwreck that leads you to the magical island."
"I never thought about hosting any other game show outside of 'Jeopardy!'. Burton said. "But now, they went in a different direction with their show, which is their right, and now I'm thinking, well, it does kind of make sense, let me see what I can do."
"So we're trying to figure out what the right game show for LeVar Burton would be," he teased.
Burton was nominated for an Emmy in 1977 for Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Performance in a Drama or Comedy Series for his starring role in the acclaimed ABC miniseries "Roots." He won a Grammy Award in 2000 for Best Spoken Word Album for "The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr."