LeVar Burton Says He No Longer Wants to Host ‘Jeopardy!’

LeVar Burton is no longer interested in stepping in as the permanent host of Jeopardy! as the game show continues its search for someone to replace Alex Trebek following Mike Richards’ controversial and brief stint behind the podium. Burton opened up to Trevor Noah on The Daily Show about the rise and fall of his campaign to take Trebek’s place on Thursday’s episode, saying the two weeks he spent guest-hosting were enough.

The Reading Rainbow alum explained it “made sense” to him when he learned there was a campaign advocating for him to take the Jeopardy! role. “I made it public that I wanted it for myself, that it made sense to me, and they were all about it,” Burton told 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.”

“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,” he continued, adding that he really wanted to “compete” for the job. When Richards was briefly named in August as the permanent host, Burton said he continued looking for the next step in his career. “The opportunities that have come my way as a result of not getting that gig, I couldn’t have dreamt it up,” he teased. “If you had given me a pen and paper and said, well, so what do you want this to really look like? If it doesn’t include Jeopardy!, I wouldn’t have been this generous to myself.”

While he doesn’t want to return to Jeopardy!, Burton said he would be happy to stay in the same genre. “Now I’m thinking, well, it does kind of make sense, let me see what I can do,” he explained. “So we’re trying to figure out what the right game show for LeVar Burton would be.” Jeopardy! is currently on the hunt for a new permanent host after Richards was removed both executive producer and host in August after offensive comments he made on a podcast resurfaced.

The few episodes Richards did tape as host began airing this week, and Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will step behind the podium starting Monday through the end of the year. A search for a permanent Jeopardy! host is still ongoing.