LeVar Burton Promises Trivial Pursuit Won’t Make You Feel Dumb: A Freewheeling Chat With the Star Trek: TNG Vet About His New Hosting Gig

Kimberly Roots

24 October 2024 at 5:57 pm·2-min read

For TV watchers of a certain age — that age being their 40s and 50s — LeVar Burton has spent years as a constant, edifying, steadying presence in American pop culture.

Kunta Kinte in the Roots miniseries. Host of Reading Rainbow. Lt. Cmdr. Geordi LaForge in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Picard. Troy’s dream-come-true in Community. And now, emcee of The CW’s Trivial Pursuit, the latest point in his career as, as he puts it, “an itinerant storyteller.”

More from TVLine

“I love our show. I’m so proud of what we’ve done. And this really scratches the itch for me in terms of ‘LeVar Burton hosting a game show,'” he says, a nod to his much-discussed — and ultimately unfulfilled — desire to permanently assume Jeopardy!‘s host podium after Alex Trebek passed.

When Burton swings by TVLine’s New York offices to discuss his newest endeavor, the conversation starts with the new show (which is based on Hasbro’s classic board game and which airs Thursday at 9/8c on The CW) but soon branches into his other well-known TV roles and how what may at first seem like a setback can turn out to be the set-up for something great.

Star Trek Picard Easter Eggs Final Season 3

Star Trek: Picard: Our Favorite Easter Eggs From The Final Season

View List

“I’m the guy who has taken what has come my way and made the most of it,” he says in the video above. “And we’re stretching it out into my fifth decade in show business now.”

Press PLAY on the video above to watch our full conversation with Burton, then hit the comments with your thoughts.

Best of TVLine

Cosmo
Blake Lively goes braless in a plunging butter yellow sequin shirt
Blake Lively wore a Sergio Hudson yellow sequin shirt, unbuttoned to reveal she was wearing no bra, with matching yellow trousers to the 2024 Beauty Inc Awards.
Parade
Sami Sheen Leaves Fans 'Drooling' With 'Outstanding' Cheeky Swimsuit Pics
The celebrity daughter put her assets on display in new photos.
HuffPost
Blue Ivy Carter Sparks Controversy By Wearing What Some Call A ‘Wildly Inappropriate’ Dress
Certain social media users criticized the outfit, but many others voiced support for the 12-year-old daughter of Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
HuffPost
Stephen Colbert Predicts Wildly Petty Trump Act That Will Make Headlines Next
"You know that's coming," the "Late Show" host joked.
The Daily Beast
Even Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Want Nothing to Do With Their Own Terrible New Show About Polo
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seem to be galloping away from any association with their new show about polo, after it was ridiculed by critics as a tin-eared foray into the “world’s stupidest sport.” Notably, there has been no visible promotion for the show, entitled, imaginatively enough, Polo; no interviews or podcast episodes with Meghan or Harry have dropped, and records suggest there are no premieres or press events scheduled to support its launch earlier this week. It’s a grim turn of eve
BANG Showbiz
Sir Elton John was 'crushed' by cheating ex
Sir Elton John has admitted he was "crushed" when he found out his ex was cheating on him and he "fell apart" when the relationship ended.
Good Housekeeping
Meghan Markle Just Wore a Rare All-Pink Gown to a Baby Shower
Meghan Markle doesn’t often wear pink, but for her friend Samantha Stone’s baby shower, Meghan pulled out a full-length gown in the hue to celebrate.
Yahoo News Australia
Expat's 'crazy' reaction to hidden problem plaguing Aussie homes: 'It's just insane'
The woman's health took a drastic turn after moving Down Under. After eventually understanding the cause, she is shocked it's 'such a huge problem in Sydney'.
Yahoo Lifestyle
Kmart shopper shocked by $49 item that's better than $500 version: 'This is insane'
A Kmart shopper has found a $49 item that's better than $500 version of the same thing. Read more.
BuzzFeed
Sarah Michelle Gellar Literally Walked Away From A Reporter After Being Asked If Jennifer Love Hewitt Will Be In The “I Know What You Did Last Summer” Remake
“the way the energy changed so fast after her name was mentioned.”
InStyle
Kate Middleton "Is Not Back to Normal" Yet Amid Her Cancer Recovery
"She is a different person now."
HuffPost
‘Oh My God!’: Seth Meyers Has Dark Realization About Donald Trump’s Billionaire Cabinet
“Do you know what this means?”
Variety
Guy Pearce Says He Never Acted in Chris Nolan Films After ‘Memento’ Because a Warner Bros. Exec Disliked His Acting and Said: ‘I’m Never Going to Employ’ You
Guy Pearce revealed in a new interview with Vanity Fair that he was blocked from starring in Christopher Nolan movies after 2000’s “Memento” because a Warner Bros. executive just didn’t like his acting. The director’s relationship with the Hollywood studio started right after “Memento” with the 2002 psychological thriller “Insomnia.” Nolan and Warner Bros. then …
BuzzFeed
19 Images That'll Warp Your Perspective To The Point Of No Return
Another week of confusing images is upon us.
InStyle
A Royal Family Maid Was Arrested For Assault After an "Out of Control" Christmas Party
Buckingham Palace addressed the incident and ongoing investigation in a statement.
The Independent
Don Trump Jr didn’t like Kimberly Guilfoyle’s fashion sense and thought new beau would be more of a win with dad
‘Kim is so uptight and always dresses so professionally in these kinds of dresses and high heels,’ Trump Jr. allegedly said to Guilfoyle, according to a source
The Daily Beast
Time Undercuts Trump Interview With 2,300-Word Fact Check
Time magazine contested Donald Trump’s claims about undocumented immigrants, a link between vaccines and autism, and gender-transition regret in a sprawling fact-check published alongside its Person of the Year interview. The president-elect was awarded the magazine’s Person of the Year title—which has gone to influential figures as disparate as Taylor Swift and Joseph Stalin—for the second time, having also won it in 2016. Trump proudly attended the award ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange
Parade
Brenda Lee Fans Express Concern for 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree' Singer: This Is 'Elder Abuse'
Other fans vehemently disagreed with the 'elder abuse' claims.
BuzzFeed
Brian Austin Green Admitted He's Actually "Heartbroken" By Megan Fox And MGK's Rumored Breakup, And His Explanation Made Me Sadder For Her
Megan and MGK reportedly recently broke up, mere weeks after announcing they're expecting their first child.
Robb Report
Sylvester Stallone Drops $25 Million in Cash on a Ritzy Hamptons Estate
Purchased by the "Tulsa King" star for his daughters, the newly built home features almost 12,000 square feet of turnkey living space decked out with hand-picked designer furnishings.

Latest stories