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LeVar Burton attends the 70th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street on November 20, 2019 in New York City. Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage

LeVar Burton to guest host 'Jeopardy!' after huge boost from online petition

LOS ANGELES — The 200,000-plus LeVar Burton boosters who signed a petition calling for him to be the new "Jeopardy!" host will get to see him try the job on for size.

Burton is among the final group of guest hosts for the quiz show, which

In his career, Burton has "inspired and shaped the minds of several generations of trivia-loving nerds," according to the petition that, as of Wednesday, had 246,000 and counting signers.

In an email, a spokeswoman for Burton said he believes the petition drive and his social media interactions with fans were factors in the invitation for him to be a guest host.

There was no immediate reply to a request for comment from producer Sony Pictures Television.

TV anchors and journalists George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts of ABC and David Faber of CNBC and sportscaster Joe Buck are the other temp hosts getting one-week stints, Sony said Wednesday. The air dates weren't announced.

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