jeopardy-provide-summer-reading-list-categories-levar-burton-host-stint

‘Jeopardy!’ Provides ‘Summer Reading List’ with Categories During LeVar Burton’s Host Stint

It looks like the”Jeopardy!” showrunners really want to play to LeVar Burton’s strengths while he’s guest hosting the popular game show.

Earlier this week, contestants had to answer clues for a science fiction category, which Burton mastered because of his “Star Trek: The Next Generation” days. And in last night’s episode, the “Reading Rainbow” host guided contestants through a fiction category full of bestsellers and thrilling reads.

“Jeopardy!” eventually posted the category’s clues to their official Instagram page. They captioned the post, “Your summer reading list, courtesy of this category.”

The answers ranged from contemporary fiction titles to Stephen King hits to fantasy icons. Six-time champ Matt Amodio swooped in with four out of five correct answers, demonstrating his extensive literary knowledge.

Amodio is currently on a “Jeopardy!” roll, raking in not only six straight wins but also a ton of cash. Going into last night’s game, the Ph.D. candidate from New Haven, Connecticut, already had $147,800 in winnings. After wagering big in yesterday’s “Final Jeopardy!” round, the six-day champion added another $47,000 to that pot. If he succeeds in tonight’s game, Amodio could be walking away with more than $200,000.

He’s also on track to be invited to the next Tournament of Champions. After winning his fifth game, Amodio officially made it onto “Jeopardy!”‘s Tournament of Champions Tracker, alongside seven-day champs Courtney Shah and Brian Chang. Though Amodio’s won one less game than those two, he’s racked up over $30,000 more than Chang and $76,000 more than Shah.

“Jeopardy!” recently interviewed the returning champion to talk about his time on the game show so far. When asked what he’s feeling as he’s competing on stage, Amoio said he seesaws between two primary emotions.

“Happiness, stress, happiness, stress, happiness, stress…in that order,” he said.

Fans Respond to Fiction Category and LeVar Burton’s ‘Jeopardy!’ Guest Hosting Stint So Far

The popular game show also posted their “Fiction’ category questions on Twitter last night, asking fans, “Which of these books have you read?”

One of the first people to respond to the post was actually returning champ Matt Amodio himself. “All good choices,” he wrote, “but I highly recommend the His Dark Materials series for anybody who hasn’t read it yet!”

Other fans chimed in with thoughts about LeVar Burton’s guest-hosting skills so far. “The real question is, which of these books do you want @levarburton to read to you bc he has the best voice ever!!!” one Twitter user wrote.

Another “Jeopardy!” fan wrote, “LeVar Burton is my favorite host since Alex, I am a nightly watcher for 20 years, but have been too sad to watch it until LeVar. Jeopardy is BACK!!!!!”

Burton only has two more games left to host before passing the baton on to CNBC’s David Faber next week.