Scripps Spelling Bee Books the Perfect Host for 2022 Contest

The Scripps National Spelling Bee has booked the perfect host for its 2022 contest, and Jeopardy! fans are going to be excited about it. ABC News reports that Levar Burton has been tapped to helm the iconic competition, which will air sometime next year on the ION and Bounce networks, and will also be available to stream online. At this time, there is no word on exactly what hosting duties will entail for the former Reading Rainbow host, but fans will likely learn more as the event gets closer.

In a statement, Burton praised joining the Scripps team, and said the spelling bee represents "the inspirational, aspirational ideal of education." He continued, "I want to normalize the pursuit of knowledge in this culture. That wouldn't be a bad thing, would it? Not just making stuff up and calling it a fact. Achievement through knowledge, scholarship, putting in the work to gain the reward." The big hosting gig comes after fans lobbied for Burton to be the new permanent host of Jeopardy!, following Alex Trebek's death in Nov. 2020. Burton was brought on as one of many interim hosts, but the permanent job initially went to Jeopardy! now-former executive producer Mike Richards, while Big Bang Theory alum Mayim Bialik was made the permanent host for all future Jeopardy! primetime specials.

However, in August Richards was fired as host and executive producer, following a controversy regarding past inappropriate behavior allegations, stemming from his time working as a producer on The Price is Right. This led to Bialik being made the new interim host of the show, along with Jeopardy! champ Ken Jennings. Recently, it was announced that Bialik and Jennings will remain on as rotating hosts for the rest of Season 38.

Following all the behind-the-scenes chaos at Jeopardy!, Burton went on the record as saying that he was no longer interested in hosting the iconic quiz show. "I made it public that I wanted it for myself, that it made sense to me, and they were all about it," Burton told Daily Show host Trevor Noah. "It made as much sense to them as it did to me. And, so, they wanted it for me as much as I wanted it. "He went on to say, "The crazy thing is that when you set your sights on something, you know, they say be careful of what you wish for, because what I found out is that it wasn't the thing that I wanted after all."