LeVar Burton Reportedly Finalizing Terms On ‘Trivial Pursuit’ Hosting Gig With The CW

LeVar Burton might have lost out on hosting Jeopardy!, but that doesn’t mean his potential was in jeopardy. After all, in the words of the theme song of his former famous hosting gig Reading Rainbow, he “can be anything!”

According to TMZ, Burton is close to sealing the deal with The CW’s upcoming Trivial Pursuit and becoming the new trivia show’s host.

Burton made headlines for being slated to host the new program based on the Hasbro board game in November 2021. However, the show, which is being produced by Hasbro and eOne, hadn’t found a network just yet, per The Hollywood Reporter.

This announcement followed Burton’s brief time hosting Jeopardy! in July 2021. Prior to the glorious gig, he told The New York Times Magazine that “there’s something inside” that told him succeeding the late Alex Trebek as the next permanent host of Jeopardy! “makes sense.”

“I’m a storyteller, and game shows are tremendous stories,” he explained. “There’s a contest, there’s comedy, there’s drama. If you don’t know your [expletive] on Jeopardy! you’re sunk in full view of the entire nation. The stakes are high. I love that.”

TMZ reports that Burton will also be Trivial Pursuit‘s executive producer in addition to serving as host, and was initially approached by Hasbro after losing out on the Jeopardy! gig to co-hosts Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik.

He reflected missing out on the gig while speaking to People in April, noting that “everything happens for a reason.”

“And it’s all purposeful and perfect,” he continued. “So where’s the perfection in ‘I didn’t get what I wanted’? I discovered that [it] wasn’t supposed to be mine, but the process that I went through led me to exactly where I needed to be.”

He was right, because he’s got a new pursuit in store, and we hear it’s quite trivial.