200K people have signed petition for LeVar Burton to host ‘Jeopardy’

Answer: This actor and longtime host of “Reading Rainbow” still wants to host “Jeopardy.”

Question: Who is LeVar Burton?

If the powers that be are listening, Burton wants to host “Jeopardy.” Nearly 200,000 fans of the actor and the game show want that, too.

When longtime host Alex Trebek died Nov. 8 from pancreatic cancer, “Jeopardy” producers began lining up celebrities to stand behind his lectern and read the answers to contestants. That’s when Burton’s fans began a petition at Change.org.

“Between hosting 21 seasons of the educational Reading Rainbow, playing the brainiac engineer Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: the Next Generation, and filling the roll (sic) of Kunta Kinte in the ever important mini-series Roots, LeVar Burton has inspired and shaped the minds of several generations of trivia-loving nerds,” the petition reads. “This petition is to show Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and producers Mike Richards and Harry Friedman just how much love the public has for Burton, and how much we’d all love to see him as the next host of Jeopardy!”

On Nov. 16, about 87,000 people had signed. Now, that number is quickly approaching the 200,000 mark, better than a true daily double.

That could be because Burton tweeted the petition Monday.

Since Trebek’s death, the show has relied on various celebrities to host, including former contestant Ken Jennings, Katie Couric, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Mayim Bialik.

A slew of Burton’s former co-stars and other celebrities have tweeted their support for choosing Burton to be the game show’s next host.