Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Bad News: LeVar Burton’s Much Ballyhooed “Jeopardy!” Stint Scored Lowest Ratings of All, Dropped 6%

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LeVar Burton’s much anticipated guest hosting sting on “Jeopardy!” was a bust.

Burton scored the lowest ratings of the year, and lowest of all guest hosts with just 4.4 million. His numbers were down 6% from the prior week.

Of course, Olympics coverage was his competition. But still, Burton was so pushed by fans that over 250,000 of them signed an online petition for his to take Alex Trebek’s podium.

But his first week was a disaster. There’s no way he would have been a contender for permanent  host. The petition and enthusiasm didn’t translate into ratings.

Burton fans could argue that the show put him at a disadvantage with the Olympics as his ratings rival. But they didn’t do very well, either.

Meantime. the show’s producers are under fire over the choice of Mike Richards for that role. The Executive Producer seemingly chose himself in the end. He’s gotten a ton of bad press for lawsuits he encountered as producer of “The Price is Right.” It’s still unclear if he will claim the job.

The highest ratings getter of the year, Ken Jennings, has yet to comment on Richards’ self appointment.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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