Actor LeVar Burton has secured a new hosting gig: the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Burton is perhaps best known for his long-running role as the host of Reading Rainbow. The educational program ran on PBS from 1983 to 2006, with Burton also serving as executive producer. He also played Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) and Kunta Kinte on the award-winning miniseries Roots (1977).
Now the longtime literacy advocate is gearing up to host the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee, AP reports. Burton said yes immediately when Scripps approached him about the role. Scripps announced this fall that it had ended its partnership with ESPN, which broadcast the event for 27 years. The upcoming competition will now have a new host and broadcaster for the nearly 100-year-old event. The bee will instead air on Ion and Bounce—two channels owned by Scripps—on June 1 and 2.
The announcement comes on the heels of an unsuccessful campaign to install Burton as the host of Jeopardy. Fans fervently pushed for the one-time guest host to take over for the late Alex Trebek, even gathering hundreds of thousands of signatures. The producers ultimately settled on a temporary solution, with Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik splitting hosting duties. After all the brouhaha, Burton confirmed he wasn’t interested in the job.
Following the Jeopardy debacle, Burton has bounced back with two new hosting opportunities. In addition to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Burton has plans to executive produce and host a game show based on the popular board game Trivial Pursuit. Though the series hasn’t yet attracted the attention of a network, Burton’s involvement will surely result in an eventual sale.
Source: AP
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