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Game on!
LeVar Burton may never get the chance to host “Jeopardy!,” but he’s still staying in the game show circuit.
The “Roots” actor, 64, is teaming up with Entertainment One to create a game show based on Hasbro’s famed “Trivial Pursuit.”
Hasbro purchased Entertainment One for $3.8 billion in 2019. Burton is set to host the series and scored an executive producer role as well.
Tara Long and Geno McDermott from eOne and LeVar Burton Entertainment’s Sangita Patel will be producing alongside the actor.
Long, who is the President of Global Unscripted Television for eOne, said in a statement, “LeVar Burton has been an iconic member of American pop culture for decades from ‘Roots’ to ‘Reading Rainbow’ to ‘Star Trek’ and beyond. His love for intellectual curiosity paired with his ability to connect with audiences worldwide make him the perfect partner to bring Hasbro’s beloved trivia game to households in a new and exciting way.”
“Trivial Pursuit is one of the best-known brands in the gaming universe. I am thrilled to have partnered with Hasbro and eOne to bring this beloved game to market as a premium show for television,” Burton added.
The “Star Trek” alum was one of the frontrunners earlier this year to take over as permanent host of “Jeopardy!” following longtime host Alex Trebek’s death. Burton was passed over in favor of alternating hosts Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings.
Burton did a guest stint on the ABC series this past summer and opened up in July about the struggles of being a host.
“This was a real challenge,” he told The Associated Press. “You’re not going to be smooth as Alex, let go of that. But what you can bring to the table is you. So that became my point of focus. And when it did, I started having fun.”
He continued, “The pressure, the natural tendency was to want to live up to Alex’s example, his legacy. I came backstage after taping the first episode and I said to [my wife] Stephanie, ‘Well, how did I do?’”
“She said, ‘Ehhh,’” Burton recalled of his wife’s reaction after the show’s taping. He also stated that the experience was “really, really, really scary.”
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