LeVar Burton (showing here in September) is set to host and help produce a game show based on Trivia Pursuit.
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Kevin Winter / Getty Images
LeVar Burton (showing here in September) is set to host and help produce a game show based on Trivia Pursuit.
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
LeVar Burton fans, your prayers have been answered. He may not host the show Risk!, but his game show career seems to be just getting started.
Burton’s LeVar Burton Entertainment has partnered with Entertainment One (eOne), a studio owned by the game company Hasbro, to turn the beloved board game Trivial Pursuit into a TV game show, eOne announced in one Press Release Tuesday. Burton is expected to host, as well as act as a co-executive producer, of the release announcement.
“Trivial Pursuit is one of the most popular franchises in the gaming world. I’m delighted to be partnering with Hasbro and eOne to bring this beloved game to market as a premium TV show,” said Burton. said in a statement released Tuesday.
Burton, who has become a beloved pop culture icon for his roles on shows like Reading Rainbow and Star Trek: The Next Generation, is one of those people audition organization Risk! after the death of longtime host Alex Trebek. Even though Abundant support on social media, Burton was ultimately not selected.
The producer then ran the show Mike Richards landed the role, but resigned (and was fired as executive producer) following controversy surrounding derogatory statements he had made in a podcast years earlier. , follow USA Today. Former contestant Ken Jennings and actress Mayim Bialik then exploit hold the program for the remainder of 2021.
But for Burton, missing out on being a part of Risk! Legacy can be a blessing in disguise.
“The crazy thing is when you set your sights on something, you know, they say be careful what you want, because what I found out is that’s not what I want, ” Burton said in a interview with The Daily Show in September. “What I want is to be competitive. I mean, I want the job, but then when I don’t get it, it’s like, ‘Well, okay, what’s next?’ And so the opportunities came to me but I didn’t land that gig, I couldn’t dream it up.”
It’s not yet clear which network will eventually air Burton’s new show, or exactly when it will premiere. In the meantime, Burton also confirmed the news via his Twitter account on Tuesday, sharing a Diversity articles and Write, “Hey guys, this is happening!”
It’s a move that Burton’s partners also sound optimistic about.
“LeVar Burton has been an iconic member of American popular culture for decades since Roots come Reading Rainbow come Star Trek and more,” said Tara Long, president of eOne’s global no-record channel and executive producer of the new Trivial Pursuit show, in Tuesday’s release. to bring Hasbro’s beloved quiz game to households in a new and exciting way. “
