Legendary actor LeVar Burton would be the new “Jeopardy” host if the fans had their way, according to a newly released poll.
Fans preferred the 64-year-old “Roots” and “Reading Rainbow” star overwhelmingly over the chosen host Mike Richards, the Morning Consult poll stated as shared by Mediaite.
Burton, who also starred on “Star Trek,” received 14 percent of the votes compared to only 3 percent for Richards. Former “Big Bang Theory” sitcom star and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik came in as the second-most popular host with 13 percent.
As it stands, Richards has been chosen by Sony Pictures Television as the permanent replacement for the incomparable host Alex Trebek who succumbed to pancreatic cancer in December 2020. Bialik will take charge during prime-time and spinoff “Jeopardy!” specials, such as the “Jeopardy! National College Championship.”
Following Trebek’s death, producers fielded an eclectic array of personalities as guest hosts, including Burton, Bialik, Richards, Katie Couric, the NFL’s Aaron Rodgers, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, ABC’s Robin Roberts, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and former “Jeopardy” champion Ken Jennings, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Moreover, Richards fails to move the needle or create excitement as the new host.
“More than half of “Jeopardy!” viewers (54 percent) said the new hosts made them neither more nor less interested in watching the game show, according to a Morning Consult survey conducted Aug. 13-16,” Mediaite reported. “About 1 in 3 viewers (32 percent) said they were more interested in tuning in, while 14 percent said the casting choices made them less interested.”
The Blast reports that Richards is under fire for making crude comments about women in one-piece swimsuits from a podcast session that ran from 2013 to 2014. He has since apologized profusely.
