'SNL' Takes Shot at 'Jeopardy!' Hosting Debacle

10/17/2021 10:20 am EDT

Saturday Night Live was between seasons when most of the Jeopardy! hosting drama went down, but it made up for it last night. The SNL cold open was all about the Las Vegas Raiders' Jon Gruden email scandal, but they squeezed in a bit about LeVar Burton's effort to become Jeopardy! host. Raiders owner Mark Davis (played by Alex Moffat) revealed the organization found a new coach, saying it was "a solution that makes everyone happy; someone even Twitter can get behind." He then introduced Burton, played by Kenan Thompson.

"Suck on that, Mayim Bialik!" the Burton character said. "I am the supreme football host now. I'll take offense for $300. What is a handoff? I'm genuinely asking. I'm a theatre kid, ya know?"

The sketch wrapped up with a silly ending, consisting of Burton belting out a parody of the Reading Rainbow theme song. "Field goal in the sky, I am the head coach guy," Burton delivered. "Take a look, in the playbook, we're playing football."

Burton was a key personality in the Jeopardy! hosting conversation this year as the show looked for a permanent replacement for Alex Trebek. Burton was initially snubbed for a guest hosting spot, but his personal campaigning stirred up a groundswell of support online. However, he was just given a brief stint and was ultimately passed over for the job. The show instead chose one of its own producers, the now-disgraced Mike Richards, as its full-time host, with Bialik, best known for her work on The Big Bang Theory and Blossom, being tapped to host primetime specials. 

Soon after, Richards' past improprieties came to light, and he was out as host and producer. Bialik has stepped in as a temporary host, with many assuming she'll be the full-time host when it's all said and done. However, with this SNL, sketch, maybe Burton's time in the Jeopardy! hosting conversation won't be done, after all. 

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