The final lineup of interim hosts for Jeopardy! season 37 has been announced, and it includes Star Trek alum LeVar Burton, who is one of the fan favorites to permanently succeed the late Alex Trebek as the game show’s presenter.
A Change.org petition calling for Burton to be the next permanent Jeopardy! host has already collected over 247,000 signatures. The actor, who is best known for his role as Geordi LaForge in Star Trek: The Next Generation, served as the presenter of the educational children’s series Reading Rainbow for 21 seasons, so a lot of fans think that he will do well hosting Jeopardy!.
Shortly after Sony Pictures Television unveiled the final batch of guest hosts on Wednesday, Burton took to Twitter to thank fans for their “passionate support” that landed him the job. “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. YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE!” wrote the actor, whose two-week stint in the show will air this summer.
Completing the final slate of Jeopardy!’s interim hosts are Good Morning America anchors George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts, Fox sportscaster Joe Buck, and Squawk on the Street anchor David Faber, who is a former Celebrity Jeopardy! champ. As part of each guest host’s appearance, a charity of their choice will receive a donation.
“Our goal has been to present a wide variety of guest hosts with different skill sets and backgrounds on our path to finding a permanent host,” Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards said in a press release. “All of the guest hosts have brought individualism, energy and an authentic love of our show to each of their episodes.”
Ken Jennings, who holds the record for the longest winning streak on Jeopardy! and is the highest-earning game show contestant of all time, was the first to guest host the series this season. Other celebrities who have guest hosted the show this season include Katie Couric, Bill Whitaker, Mayim Bialik, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Savannah Guthrie, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Aaron Rodgers, and Anderson Cooper.
Trebek died in November at the age of 80 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He hosted Jeopardy! for over 30 years.