Levar Burton Will Host the 94th Spelling Bee Competition

LeVar Burton has landed a new gig as the 94th Spelling Bee Competition host.

Burton, who is known for his time on Reading Rainbow, will be the host of both the semifinals and finals of the 94th Scripps National Spelling Bee scheduled to take place on June 1 and 2, according to a press release.

“Hosting the Scripps National Spelling Bee will be an honor,” Burton stated. “Like a lot of folks, I look forward to the competition every year and am excited to be a part of this wonderful tradition that celebrates excellence.” 

Dr. J. Michael Durnil, who is the executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, said that having Burton host the 2022 event “aligns with the mission” of the bee itself.

“To have such a prominent advocate for children’s literacy involved in this special and unique competition is a perfect match,” Durnil said. “We have the same goals: to educate tomorrow’s leaders and build reading competency in all young people.”

The Scripps National Spelling Bee recently announced that the upcoming competition would air live for the first time on ION and Bounce, which are both owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. The competition had previously been aired on ESPN platforms since 1994. 

“The time is right to bring the iconic competition back to broadcast television, the media platform accessible for free to nearly every American viewer across the country,” said Scripps President and CEO Adam Symson in a press release addressing the change. 

“As the Bee’s viewership expands through the diverse and fast-growing audiences of ION and Bounce, it is better positioned to connect with the next generation of spellers watching along,” Symson added.

Burton told the Associated Press that he wasted no time agreeing to the opportunity when he was tapped to be the host.

“I want to normalize the pursuit of knowledge in this culture. That wouldn’t be a bad thing, would it?” the Stark Trek alum said in the interview. “Not just making stuff up and calling it a fact. Achievement through knowledge, scholarship, putting in the work to gain the reward.”

Burton was also considered as an option to become the host of Jeopardy! after Alex Trebek died last year. however, he was not chosen.

“The crazy thing is is that when you set your sights on something, they say, ‘Be careful of what you wish for.’ Because what I found out is that it wasn’t the thing that I wanted after all,” he said. “What I wanted was to compete. I mean, I wanted the job, right. But then when I didn’t get it, it was like, ‘Well, okay. Well, what’s next?'”

“The opportunities that have come my way as a result of not getting that gig, I couldn’t have dreamt it up. I couldn’t if you had given me a pen and paper and said, ‘Well, so, what do you want this to really look like if it doesn’t include Jeopardy!?,” he added.