Well that was quick. After completely botching the search for a new Jeopardy host by naming Executive Producer Mike Richards as the host nobody asked for, he's stepped down nine days later due to not-so-nice stuff he's said in the past.
What boggles my mind has been how bad Jeopardy botched this entire search for a new host. All season we've mourned and respected Alex Trebek's legacy and each guest host has said kind words about Alex in hopes of doing him proud. Some were better than others and we all know LeVar Burton has been vocal about wanting the job. I think he did fantastic, albeit he was pretty nervous. The internet was rooting for him.
To cap off this "great search", the show announces one of their own who wasn't even a guest host, as permanent host. Oh, and in this day and age, we get yet another white guy. Like her or not, Mayim Bialik named as the host for "special occasions" rings hollow. It's almost like the show can point to her and say "See! We put a woman on the show too!"
At the onset of this "search" I thought Ken Jennings would be a shoe-in. He's the king of the show. That changed after seeing others, but Ken still is preferable than Dr. Oz 🤮 of all people. But LeVar did really well. He will get better. The man is the consummate professional and is so well liked. He's talked about wanting to host for years. He WANTS the job and people want him to have the job. Plus he's a POC who's done impactful work as a POC in his filmography. It's an insult to have LeVar Burton lose out to Mike effin Richards.
Similarly, Alex Trebek himself said he would want CNN legal analyst Laura Coates (another POC) to be his replacement. Hey, give her a shot! Let Laura and LeVar duke it out for hosting rights and hell, maybe even let the viewers vote in some fashion.
Jeopardy can right this wrong and make everyone happy, which leads to people watching, leading to making the sponsors happy! Name LeVar Burton or Laura Coates as the permanent Jeopardy host and put this thing to bed. Each one has a right to host the most prestigious game show on television.