LeVar Burton says Jeopardy snub taught him “the perfect nature of all things”
Although he admits he was "disappointed" to lose out on Jeopardy, Levar Burton tells The A.V. Club the feeling only lasted until the phone started to ring
Aux News LeVar Burton
Back in 2021, the idea that LeVar Burton might follow in the late Alex Trebek’s giant footsteps as Jeopardy host was much more than a whisper. A dedicated fan campaign championed Burton as the perfect choice for the slot, and he even tried his hand at guest hosting for a brief stint. Even Burton admits it felt like everything was falling into place—until he ultimately lost out on the gig. Despite his disappointment, Burton now looks back at the snub as a sort of subliminal message, and an experience that taught him “the perfect nature of all things.”
“It really cemented to me that everything happens to me for a reason, right?” Burton tells The A.V. Club’s own Drew Gillis in a new interview. “Because I thought that I had a really good shot at getting the job. What I didn’t know at the time was that it really wasn’t an audition.”
Burton has shared a similar sentiment before, although he’s diplomatic enough not to name Mike Richards, the executive producer instrumental in the hosting search who was ultimately, if briefly, selected at the end of a long trial period. (Richards ultimately lost the job as well; three weeks after he was announced as the new host, Sony doubled back hard, stating that Richards would leave the show altogether amid “disruption and internal difficulties.” Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik took over as co-hosts in September 2021.)
“The executive producer, the man who was hired to teach me how to play the game, who said he didn’t want the job but his job was to help them find the right person for the job, that person gave themselves the job,” Burton recalls. “I was disappointed, I’m not gonna lie. I had to really sit down and try to figure out: so what, what happened here? What went wrong?”
Burton says his period of woeful soul-searching, however, only lasted until the phone started to ring. All of a sudden, the serendipity of life; Burton got a call to host the Grammys pre-show, and then the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Soon enough, he says, Hasbro and E1 Entertainment called him with another idea: a television game show based on the beloved board game “Trivial Pursuit,” with Burton as host.
“I think sometimes in life we need to be willing to sit in the discomfort of things, before you get to the reason, before you get to the goodie,” Burton says. “And sometimes just being willing to be uncomfortable is the purpose. Because the gift is on the other side.”
Beyond Burton’s aforementioned post-Jeopardy gigs, part of that gift has been the chance to serve as an executive producer on the new documentary The Right To Read. Directed by Jenny Mackenzie, the film chronicles the American literacy crisis through the stories of an NAACP activist, an Oakland teacher, and two families navigating access to literacy education. It’s an issue that the long-time Reading Rainbow star calls “right in his sweet spot,” and one he hopes will leave audiences both “inspired” and “fired up” to make a change.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck emergency, because a child, if they don’t reach their level of reading proficiency by the time they’re in the fourth grade, chances are they will not graduate high school,” Burton explains. “You cannot reach your most full potential in life unless you are literate in at least one language. That’s a national crisis.”
The Right To Read is free to stream here until March 9.
18 Comments
I think you dodged a bullet on this one, Mr. B. But you don’t have to take my word for it!
Yeah he’s too good for Jeopardy.
What a well balanced way to say “that was some bullshit, wasn’t it? but I dodged a bullet.” yes Mr. Burton, that was some bullshit.
Yeah and peace to all the assholes pretending he lost out due to his lack of something rather than that show being run like shit. Whole parade of apologists here.
1. I still find it odd that anyone (guest hosts, viewers, reporting outlets) thought at any point that the parade of guest hosts was a serious audition rather than stunt casting to maximize ratings right after Trebek’s passing. I thought that was clear from jump street, though I admit I was surprised that the pre-destined choice was Richards. I can’t believe he was the sole arbiter of that decision, nor can I believe that everyone else who had to sign off thought he was legitimately the best option (based on merit – he was DoA as soon as his history came to light).2. I know this is rehashing an old debate, but I just don’t think Burton was that good. He wasn’t the worst and he wasn’t the best. He was fine. I think that there is any debate at all is that it seemed like such a slam dunk on paper, with a lot of support behind it and it just didn’t work out.3. Glad to hear he is on to other (better?) things. He seems like a great person and even though this role did not work out, at least he is getting other opportunities. Not like he flamed out so hard that the phones went cold.
Came down here to say exactly this.
Well, nearly exactly. All of it except, “he was fine”. I agree he wasn’t the worst, but he just wasn’t good. I don’t doubt that that’s in part because Richards sabotaged him. But also, hey, game-show hosting is a skillset, and i think Burton’s time on Jeopardy! showed that he does not have it innately.
Ken Jennings: A+Mayim Bialik: C-Levar Burton: F
That’s pretty close to how i’d grade it. But let me really think about it, ‘cause this is definitely important.For their Cavalcade of Guest Hosts appearances, i’d grade them:
Ken = A
Mayim = C
LeVar = D/D-I don’t think LeVar was completely irredeemable, but pretty close. I didn’t like Mayim during the Cavalcade, really, but i didn’t dislike her as much as i’ve grown to since. I think both she and Ken have gotten a little too comfortable and are a bit less-good lately than they were in the heady days of the Cavalcade. But Ken was the obvious choice (even before the Cavalcade, and, no, i won’t stop using that word), and still is. Just… please have someone check your tweets before you hit send, Ken.
I know this is rehashing an old debate, but I just don’t think Burton was that good. He wasn’t the worst and he wasn’t the best. He was fine. I think that there is any debate at all is that it seemed like such a slam dunk on paper, with a lot of support behind it and it just didn’t work out.His hosting definitely wasn’t perfect, but my understanding is that Burton wasn’t treated as a serious contender by the producers, even though he wanted to be. He got one day of filming, no rehearsals, no prep to ensure he could hit cues properly, etc. While a few of the other guest hosts did better with similar levels of prep, they may not have felt the same pressure to “audition” for the permanent gig as Burton did.Things worked out fine for him, but it’s hard not to think about what might have been if he had been treated as a serious contender by the producers.
He got one day of filming because they do an entire week’s worth of episodes in one day. That’s the schedule. The people who did two weeks were there for a whopping two days. This isn’t some conspiracy against him. He just wasn’t good at it.
It’s something you learn–not having beginner’s luck for one time is not a flaw. He’s talented and smart enough to learn with doing.
The thing is though that the others had the same amount of time and most did fine. Some also sucked, like Aaron Rodgers and Dr. Oz. I guess it was sink or swim and he sank, and that’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s also not an injustice.
No conspiracy, just a mismatch in expectations all around—from fans, Burton himself, and the producers.The Jeopardy! producers didn’t owe any of the guest hosts a legitimate audition if they weren’t interested in them (although the whole process looks pretty shady in retrospect with the EP giving the job to himself). It’s just a nice “what if” to wonder what might have been if Burton had been given a longer stint, more prep, nailed his hosting stint, etc.
My point is that not a single one of the guest hosts was treated as a serious contender. There were no serious contenders. There were no contenders at all. This was not an audition at all. This was stunt casting and was never ever an audition for a permanent host role. Let’s say that Burton (or Rodgers or Couric or Cooper or Cohen) hit their mark every time, were engaging, people loved them and ratings shot up. And they did it with no preparation and was willing to take the job for $1 a year because they just loved it so much. They *still* wouldn’t have been hired, because this was about as much of an audition as a guest host on SNL auditioning for the cast.
I fear for LeVar Burton in this political climate. He champions two things that are right-wing targets: Reading and rainbows.
Well he’s just going back to his roots.
Even for people who are big fans of his (from Star Trek, I guess?) this attitude of entitlement to something that you weren’t even seriously considered for, and were only added to make you stop whining on Twitter, has to be off-putting.
Some people on social media decided to make it their CAUSE to get him the job. That’s never going to work.