Unable to secure the permanent host position on Jeopardy!, LeVar Burton has moved onto another game-show hosting opportunity.
The multi-hyphenate's production company, LeVar Burton Entertainment (LBE) is working with Hasbro's Entertainment One studios unit to adapt the popular Hasbro board game Trivial Pursuit into a game show, with Burton as host.
Burton will also executive produce the show, alongside LBE's Sangita Patel and eOne's Tara Long and Geno McDermott.
No premiere date or distribution details have yet been announced for the show. Entertainment One has already adapted Hasbro's Clue and Risk into game shows. It's also rendered Dungeons & Dragons into a movie.
“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 said in a statement.
Added Long, who serves as president of global unscripted television for eOne: “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."
Burton guest-hosted on Sony Pictures Television's Jeopardy! in April, following the death of longtime host Alex Trebek. At least on social media, Burton was a popular choice to permanently succeed Trebek, but Sony instead chose the show's executive producer, Mike Richards--a move that proved unsustainable, with Richards resigning under a cloud of controversy in August.
Former mega-winning contestant Ken Jennings and Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik share interim host duties until Sony can figure out its next move. ■
