Posted in: CW, TV | Tagged: hasbro, LeVar Burton, the cw, Trivial Pursuit

Trivial Pursuit: LeVar Burton-Hosted Game Show In Works at The CW

The CW is in development on the LeVar Burton-hosted game show Trivial Pursuit, based on the popular Hasbro board game of the same name.

Published Sun, 03 Sep 2023 08:09:07 -0500

by Tom Chang

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As far as LeVar Burton is concerned, he traded up when he accepted the role as host on Trivial Pursuit instead of trying to become Alex Trebek's successor on Jeopardy! Based on the board game of the same name, the series will be developed for The CW as they're trying to close the deal to make the game show come to fruition. The actor and host is most synonymous with playing Star Trek's Geordi La Forge, originally on the syndicated The Next Generation and the Paramount+ spinoff Picard in the third and final season. Burton was in the running for full-time Jeopardy! host since Trebek's passing as Sony was running the following season with guest hosts before settling on two with former champion Ken Jennings and actress Mayim Bialik sharing duties despite a strong fan campaign supporting the Roots star and Reading Rainbow host.

LeVar Burton Shills Ryan Reynolds' Gin After Jeopardy! Endorsement — Image courtesy of Ryan Reynolds

Before LeVar Burton: Trivial Pursuit TV History

Trivial Pursuit was created in 1979 by Chris Haney, where players have to answer a series of questions from various categories with proper answers, allowing them to get credit with board movement determined by dice. Once a player answers a question correctly from every category, he/she wins the game. The game, which is now owned by Hasbro, has been adapted to a 1993/94 Family Channel game show loose adaptation hosted by Wink Martindale and later, a syndicated version of Trivial Pursuit: America Plays that ran from 2008-9.

Orlando, FL/USA-2/12/20: Trivial Pursuit game pieces which is a board game from Canada in which winning is determined by a player's ability to answer general knowledge and popular culture questions. (Joni Hanebutt / Shutterstock.com)

"[Game shows] are probably the most expensive to launch. They require some marketing dollars. If you don't have that IP, how do we do it?" said The CW'sHeather Olander told Deadline. "'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 2021.

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