Jeopardy! fiasco survivor LeVar Burton to host Trivial Pursuit game show

After months of watching Jeopardy! implode amid a bizarre public relations nightmare that left viewers wondering, “Who is Mike Richards?” and “Why don’t they just let LeVar Burton host Jeopardy!?,” former Jeopardy! guest host LeVar Burton is getting a trivia show to call his own. Announced earlier today, Burton will lead Trivial Pursuit, a new game show based on the popular wedge-based board game.

“Trivial Pursuit is one of the best-known brands in the gaming universe,” said Burton. “I am thrilled to have partnered with Hasbro and eOne to bring this beloved game to market as a premium show for television.”

The whole thing feels like a no-brainer. Throughout the Jeopardy! ordeal, Burton was the favorite to host the show. But, unfortunately, he found himself in some sort of round-robin competition, taking up guest-hosting duties among other supposedly potential permanent hosts. Following the death of longtime host Alex Trebek, the search for a new host became a sensation.

Despite being the frontrunner in many fans’ minds (though some fans wanted Aaron Rogers to host, which would’ve been its own nightmare come last week), Burton lost the gig to now-disgraced Jeopardy! producer Mike Richards. That was its own major controversy that sullied the good name of America’s premier gameshow. It was like the Leno-Conan Tonight Show debacle, except everyone was answering in the form of a question. Don’t worry. We don’t understand how they messed that one up, either.

Burton, a consummate professional, played it cool throughout the process, despite clearly expressing some level of frustration in his Twitter feed. But the past is the past, and now no one has any clue who hosts Jeopardy! (without looking, we’re going to say, Mayim Bialik or Ken Jennings? Ok, we checked. It’s both.) and everyone reading this article now knows that LeVar Burton will host a Trivial Pursuit show sometime in the near future.