Levar Burton actually would make a lot of sense for JEOPARDY's next host. He's part of a very short list of people who check all the boxes. https://twitter.com/YNB/status/1326381098067169280

The thing about filling Alex's shoes is that hosting JEOPARDY is unlike most jobs.

First off, if you host JEOPARDY (and are good at it), you're basically committing to it being your primary job until you retire.

The closest comparator here is Drew Carey, who has now been hosting THE PRICE IS RIGHT for thirteen years (!) after Bob Barker hosted it for thirty-five (!). These shows depend on a reliable, stable presence at the host position and anybody taking the gig has to know that.

This is one of the reasons Ken Jennings makes a lot of sense to a lot of people. He doesn't have any other jobs in entertainment about which he is passionate.

Second: hosting JEOPARDY is unlike most other hosting duties, because JEOPARDY runs counter to a pretty standard impulse in entertainment in that it is committed to the idea that knowledge is good, worthwhile, and cool in its own way.

A while ago I was watching some question-and-answer game show on ABC - I don't remember which - and Ellen DeGeneres (ugh) was hosting, and whenever a contestant missed an answer she would commiserate with them by saying "well, who would know that?" or similar.

That's a very common response in non-scripted quiz entertainment these days and it is 100% not the JEOPARDY way. On JEOPARDY, if you don't know the answer, that's understandable but Alex would never suggest it was reasonable to not know something.

JEOPARDY takes the philosophical position that all knowledge is valuable, running directly counter to the whims of an era where a lot of powerful people have said straight-up that any knowledge that does not benefit capital is worthless.

And JEOPARDY is not snobbish about the value of any given knowledge. Recall that famous clip of him gently roasting players when they failed to answer a single question in the football category?

Finally, any new JEOPARDY host doesn't have to be Alex, but Alex has absolutely dictated the show's social aesthetic for decades and fans of the show will want some continuity in that respect. By this I mean you need someone who will host the show *at least sort of* like Alex.

That means polite and respectful, but also willing to be sly at times, and enthusiastic about the premise without being over the top.

It means someone who, on an intellectual basis (as opposed to button speed), would *absolutely dominate* the game if they were allowed to play.

It means someone willing to put in the work to be consistent, as Alex was. You can't bobble the pronunciation of words, ever, because every one of these facts and words matters to somebody and you're the Respecter-of-Knowledge-in-Chief now.

When you consider all these needs, the list gets really short really quick (outside of relative unknowns, of course).

Ken Jennings does indeed check most of the boxes, which is why fans are enthusiastic about him as a replacement, and he's clearly been working on his weak areas.

Levar Burton checks all of the boxes too, if he wants the gig. He is, however, 63, and at this point age factors into JEOPARDY hosting duties as much as it does for Supreme Court nominations.

Other names that come to mind who check all the boxes:

Padma Lakshmi
Adam Savage
Danica McKellar
Rashida Jones

This is accurate. I'm talking about North American TV culture, not worldwide. https://twitter.com/noodlemaz/status/1326571196494749696

Stephanopoulos is a bare-minimum replacement. https://twitter.com/bradcandoit/status/1326570907247194112

One more thing. When @gingerhat went on JEOPARDY, during one of the breaks Alex, knowing she was a professional soprano, asked her if she was a coloratura or a lyric soprano. She told him she was a lyric soprano, and he introduced her as such at the start of Double Jeopardy.

This shows you Alex

1. knew, without prompting, that there are different types of sopranos

2. knew, without prompting, that singers appreciate this difference

3. cared enough to investigate.

That's the person you need as host.