LeVar Burton Reveals a “Surprising” Comment Mike Richards Made About Hosting ‘Jeopardy!’

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When LeVar Burton was introduced as a guest host on Jeopardy! last summer, Reading Rainbow fans everywhere rejoiced. While the Star Trek actor only stood at the podium for a total of five episodes, he was hopeful he’d be named Jeopardy!’s permanent host. But as it turns out, LeVar had to convince former executive producer Mike Richards that he wanted to be on the quiz show in the first place.

In a new interview with The Ringer published on June 1, LeVar opened up about what it was like earning a spot in last year's Jeopardy! guest host list. According to the TV personality, he got on the phone with Mike and expressed his interest in joining the roster. Unfortunately, their call didn’t go any further — that is, until fans put out a collective cry for his participation with an online petition that drew attention. What’s more, LeVar also made his intentions clear in a Newsweek April 2021 interview and it worked.

Around this time, LeVar called Mike “a second time” and got in contact with him. But why was it difficult to get the ball rolling for him, anyway? “[Mike] told me later that he didn’t believe me [and my interest]. He didn’t sense in that call my passion,” the Roots star told The Ringer. When the publication noted that this was "interesting and surprising," LeVar agreed: "I find that so as well."

He continued: “I finally I reached him. We finally spoke, and I convinced him that my passion was genuine. I don’t know why he didn’t get that the first time around. But I managed to convince him that my passion was genuine. And a couple of days later, I had a guest-host slot.”

After LeVar’s Jeopardy! episodes aired in late July, he was excited about the possibility of becoming the permanent host. “Everything that I’m about is in the same vein as Jeopardy!,” he told Esquire. “The things that I’ve done in terms of using the medium of television to do more than simply entertain — bringing a little more to the table to educate, inform, enlighten, uplift … Jeopardy! does those things too.”

The next month, on August 20, Mike was named the Jeopardy! permanent host alongside Big Bang Theory actress Mayim Bialik serving as a primetime specials host. Shortly after, production sources allegedly told TMZ that Jeopardy!’s studio Sony Pictures Television “loved” having LeVar as a guest host but didn’t seriously consider him for the permanent host role. According to the outlet’s report, only Mike and Mayim were approached about the special position.

But it was short-lived. A few days later, Mike stepped down as host and executive producer before leaving the show altogether. The decision came after news surfaced that he had made offensive and derogatory comments in a podcast. Reports also detailed discrimination and harassment lawsuits and accusations from his time at The Price Is Right (he disputes the claims).

Fast forward, Mayim and Jeopardy! legend Ken Jennings have been cohosting the trivia show while the search for the next permanent host continues. As for LeVar, he’s got other projects in the works, including hosting the game show Trivial Pursuit. “I’m happy to have not gotten that job,” he told The Ringer.

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