Unable to secure the permanent host position on Jeopardy!, LeVar Burton has moved onto another game-show hosting opportunity.

The multi-hyphenate's production company, LeVar Burton Entertainment (LBE) is working with Hasbro's Entertainment One studios unit to adapt the popular Hasbro board game Trivial Pursuit into a game show, with Burton as host. 

Burton will also executive produce the show, alongside LBE's Sangita Patel and eOne's Tara Long and Geno McDermott. 

No premiere date or distribution details have yet been announced for the show. Entertainment One has already adapted Hasbro's Clue and Risk into game shows. It's also rendered Dungeons & Dragons into a movie. 

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

Added Long, who serves as president of global unscripted television for eOne: “LeVar Burton has been an iconic member of American pop culture for decades from Roots to Reading Rainbow to Star Trek and beyond. His love for intellectual curiosity paired with his ability to connect with audiences worldwide make him the perfect partner to bring Hasbro’s beloved trivia game to households in a new and exciting way."

Burton guest-hosted on Sony Pictures Television's Jeopardy! in April, following the death of longtime host Alex Trebek. At least on social media, Burton was a popular choice to permanently succeed Trebek, but Sony instead chose the show's executive producer, Mike Richards--a move that proved unsustainable, with Richards resigning under a cloud of controversy in August. 

Former mega-winning contestant Ken Jennings and Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik share interim host duties until Sony can figure out its next move. ■

CBS Media Ventures's Jeopardy! has had a string of guest hosts this year since the death of Alex Trebek in November.

The show’s ratings started out on top at 6.2 when Ken Jennings began his six-week guest hosting stint in the week ended Jan. 17. But since Jennings’ start the long-running game show has had a bumpy ride, bottoming out at a 4.4 with LeVar Burton at the podium in the week ended Aug. 1. Burton's stint, though, was heavily impacted by the Tokyo Olympics, which pounded most syndies in the frame.

Jeopardy! has since rebounded: first with CNBC's David Faber earning a 4.5 in the week ended Aug. 8, and then second with Fox Sports' Joe Buck nabbing a 5.2 in the week ended Aug. 15. Buck's rating marked a 13-week high for the game show and a 16% jump over the previous week.

Before Burton and Faber, the game show's lowest rating came in at a 4.7 with Savannah Guthrie, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Robin Roberts each earning that number during their respective turns at the podium.

Find out how the guest hosts (so far) stack up below. The most recent ratings are for the week ended Aug. 15 and are based on live plus same day national household ratings from Nielsen Media Research. It's also important to note that ratings are affected by more than the guest host. Preemptions, the Tokyo Olympics, and the slow summer season, for example, all have an impact.

Also Read: New 'Jeopardy!' Host Mike Richards Steps Down After Just 9 Days

The Tokyo Olympics, as predicted, trampled syndicated shows in the week ended Aug. 1, with most shows retitled in order to avoid having these weeks of low ratings included in their overall season averages. 

Daytime shows also were blown out on ABC affiliates July 27 for the first hearing of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. On July 29, early fringe was fractured by coverage of President Joe Biden’s announcement of new measures to boost vaccinations, and that evening some access strips were blocked by ABC’s coverage of the NBA draft. 

Even LeVar Burton and his anticipated week of guest-hosting Jeopardy! were not spared, with CBS Media Ventures’ Jeopardy!-Olym down 6% from the prior week to a 4.4 live plus same day national household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. 

Also Read: Mike Richards, 'Jeopardy!' EP, Addresses Host Conversations, Discrimination Lawsuits

Debmar-Mercury’s Family Feud-Olym fell 5% to a 5.2 but remained syndication’s and game’s top show. SPT’s Wheel of Fortune-Olym tumbled 13% to a 3.9.

Fox’s 25 Words or Less-Olym plunged 14% to a 0.6. Entertainment Studios’ Funny You Should Ask, which was not retitled, fell back 20% to a 0.4. 

Disney’s internet video show RightThisMinute-Olym skidded 17% to a 0.5. 

CBS Media Ventures’ Inside Edition-Olym tumbled 10% to a 1.9, edging out sister show Entertainment Tonight/Olym, which also yielded 10% to a 1.8. Warner Bros.’ TMZ and Extra, both of which largely air on Fox affiliates in top markets and were not retitled, held steady at a 0.7 and 0.6, respectively. CBS Media Ventures’ DailyMailTV-Olym delivered a 0.5 for a second straight week. NBCUniversal’s Access Hollywood-Olym did not air until well past midnight in most markets, including all of the top ten, and gave back 50% to a 0.4.

Fox’s Dish Nation, which was not retitled and airs mostly on Fox affiliates, stayed at a 0.3 for the 47th time in the past 48 weeks.

Disney’s Live-Olympics2021 eased 18% to a 1.4 but that was enough to lead the talkers for the 12th straight week, including one tie with CMV’s Dr. Phil. Among daytime’s key demographic of women 25-54, the retitled Live with Kelly and Ryan led the talkers at a 0.6 followed by the Olympic-retitled Dr. Phil at a 0.4. 

Dr. Phil-Olym, in repeats all week, relinquished 14% to a 1.2. NBCU’s Maury, which was not renamed and airs on CW affiliates and independent stations, eroded 11% to a new series-low 0.8. Debmar-Mercury’s Wendy Williams-Olym, on summer hiatus, slumped 13% to a 0.7. NBCU’s Steve Wilkos, which, like Maury, was not retitled, weakened 14% to a 0.6. 

Disney’s Tamron-Olympics2021 and the Olympic version of CMV’s Rachael Ray both receded 29% to a 0.5. An all-rerun week of NBCU’s Olympics-coded Kelly Clarkson did not air in most markets, including all of the top six, and took a 50% hit to a 0.4, tying the Olympic version of Warner Bros.’ Ellen DeGeneres, which forfeited 43%, CMV’s Olympics-titled Drew Barrymore, which backtracked 20% with encore episodes, and Sony Pictures Television’s un-retitled Dr. Oz, which bled 20% to a new series low.

Warner Bros.’ The Real, also not retitled, remained at a 0.3 for the 11th consecutive week. CMV’s The Doctors, not retitled, operated at a 0.2 for the 23rd straight week, tying NBCU’s out-of-production syndicated run of Jerry Springer, which stayed put for the 47th week in a row. 

The Olympic version of CMV’s Judge Judy lost 9% to a 4.7 with repeats on all five days, but still led the courts and ranked as syndicaiotn’s third-highest rated show behind Feud and Jeopardy!.

The Olympics verison of CMV’s Hot Bench broke even at a 1.4. Warner Bros.’ People’s Court, which was not retitled, crashed 13% to a new series-low 0.7. Warner Bros.’ Judge Mathis and NBCU’s Judge Jerry, neither of which were retitled, held at a 0.6. Fox’s Divorce Court-Olympics recovered 25% to a 0.5 after settling at a new series-low 0.4 in the prior week. Repeats of Trifecta’s Protection Court continued at a 0.2.

Nothing in off-net was renamed for the games. Sitcom leaders Warner Bros.’ The Big Bang Theory and Disney’s Last Man Standing stood pat at a 2.2 and 1.5, respectively. Warner Bros.’ Two and a Half Men was minus 10% to a 0.9, tying Disney’s Modern Family, which was flat for the tenth straight week, and SPT’s The Goldbergs, which gained 13%. Disney’s Family Guy garnered a 0.8 for the fifth consecutive week. SPT’s Seinfeld slipped 13% to a new series-low 0.7. Warner Bros.’ 2 Broke Girls, Mike & Molly and Mom and Disney’s Black-ish all remained in line with the prior week’s 0.6.   

George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts, LeVar Burton, David Faber and Joe Buck are the final group of guest hosts to step to the podium as CBS Media Ventures’ Jeopardy! closes out its 37th season, said Mike Richards, Jeopardy!’s executive producer, on Wednesday.

“Our goal has been to present a wide variety of guest hosts with different skill sets and backgrounds on our path to finding a permanent host,” Richards, who took a hosting stint himself, said in a statement. “Our passionate fans are telling us what they like, and we are listening. All of the guest hosts have brought individualism, energy and an authentic love of our show to each of their episodes. We look forward to sharing the rest of the season with our viewers.”

The show started using guest hosts at the beginning of the year after the death of longtime host Alex Trebek on Nov. 8, 2020, starting with official Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time Ken Jennings, followed by Richards. 

Also Read: Syndication Ratings: Aaron Rodgers Leads ‘Jeopardy!’ to a Weekly Win

Since then, former CBS Evening News and Today anchor Katie Couric, cardiologist and talk-show host Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers have hosted. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper is on the air until April 30. After that, 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker, The Big Bang Theory and Call Me Kat’s Mayim Bialik, Today anchor Savannah Guthrie and CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta will take their turns, followed by the final five towards the end of the summer. A donation is made to the charity of each guest host’s choice. 

Stephanopoulos, who told Sirius XM Radio's Howard Stern almost a year ago that he was interested in hosting the show, is the anchor of ABC’s Good Morning America and This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Roberts also serves as an anchor on Good Morning America. 

Burton, who was the subject of an online petition to get him on the show, is the former host and executive producer of PBS’ Reading Rainbow. He also starred in the miniseries Roots and played Lt. Commander Geordi LaForge in Star Trek: The Next Generation. 

Also Read: Area Man Appears on ‘Jeopardy!’, Wins

Faber, who co-anchors CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, is a past winner of Celebrity Jeopardy! 

Joe Buck is a sportscaster who covers the National Football League and Major League Baseball for Fox Sports. 

In the week ended April 11, Jeopardy! returned to the top of the syndication charts, with a 14% climb to a 5.6 live plus same day national household rating, according to Nielsen.

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The National Association of Multi-ethnicity in Communications honored its Next Generation Leaders and Luminaries during its annual awards breakfast at the INTX show Wednesday morning, which also featured a trailer for History’s Roots reboot.

NAMIC recognized four Next Generation Leaders — emerging executives of color under the age of 45 who exemplify NAMIC’s mission of education, advocacy and empowerment to foster multiethnic diversity and inclusion in the cable industry — as well as 10 Luminaries who have demonstrated a high level of business acumen while fostering diversity and inclusion.

“They are trendsetters, thought leaders and change agents,” NAMIC president Eglon Simons said of the honorees. “They are spreading NAMIC’s vision for advocacy within their organizations.”

The diversity organization also honored Noticiero Univision anchor Maria Elena Salinas with the organization’s 2016 Mickey Leland Humanitarian Achievement Award, given to an executive for their lifelong advocacy in social justice and equality for people around the world. Salinas said in her acceptance speech that as a member of the Spanish-language media, she felt a responsibility to go beyond the headlines in reporting the news.

“I always believed that there would have to be a social service component to our job,” Salinas said. “ After all, we do serve an audience that has additional needs and a community that depends on us for information that will help make their lives more manageable."

Actor LeVar Burton also addressed breakfast attendees as an executive producer of History’s eight-hour miniseries reboot of Alex Haley’s 1970s miniseries Roots about the journey of an African-American family through slavery.

Burton, who starred as Kunta Kinte in the original Roots, said he was at first skeptical of History’s plans to remake the classic 1970s miniseries, but was won over after Mark Wolper -- the son of original Roots executive producer David Wolper -- said that the nearly 40 year-old miniseries didn’t speak to his kids when they watched it.

“It is a reality that there is an entire generation of Americans who do not know this very important story,” Burton said.

A&E has greenlit a remake of the classic 1970's miniseries Roots, network officials said Thursday.

History, A&E and Lifetime will air the reboot of the miniseries, which will include more material from Alex Haley’s novel Roots: The Saga Of An American Family, according to A&E. The novel served as the basis for the original eight-part miniseries, which finished as one of the most-watched programs in television history.

Will Packer (Ride Along, Think Like A Man) will serve as executive producer with original Roots star LeVar Burton to serve as co-executive producer of the miniseries. The Wolper Organization – the company that produced the original – will produce the miniseries along with Mark Toberoff.

“Roots was a groundbreaking television milestone that has had an enduring effect on American culture. We are privileged to be stewards of this universal story and will undertake its retelling with extreme care,” said Dirk Hoogstra, executive vice president and general manager for History in a statement. “We are proud to bring this saga to fans of the original, as well as to a new generation that will experience this powerful and poignant tale for the first time. Audiences will once again feel the impact of Kunta Kinte’s indomitable spirit.”