Ryan Reynolds Has Signed LeVar Burton For A New Gig After Hyping Him For Jeopardy, And It’s A+

Welcome to a brave new world, where TV, movies and even alcohol sales cross-connect in ways we may never have imagined previously. Ryan Reynolds has kind of been a genius at touting his alcohol brand Aviation Gin and now, somehow, he’s roped in LeVar Burton and the entire debate over who should be the next Jeopardy! host. The most unbelievable thing? It all works.

In an A+ new ad for Aviation Gin, LeVar Burton sits poolside enjoying his crisp and refreshing drink. He and Ryan Reynolds do a goofy bit there for a while, so be sure to stick around for the end of the video.

The new ad dropped just a few hours after Ryan Reynolds totally decided to jump into the “Who should be the next Jeopardy host?” debate, which seemed a little random at the time but now makes total sense. In fact, in a separate post on Instagram, Reynolds captioned his post the “Officially starting the LeVar Burton for literally everything campaign…” and I don't exactly disagree with the sentiment.

It is worth noting that Ryan Reynolds has been a Team Jeopardy guy for quite some time. Alex Trebek, of course, was a fellow Canadian. More notably, he and Ryan Reynolds shared a connection after Trebek had even filmed a cameo for Reynolds’ upcoming movie Free Guy while undergoing treatment for cancer. Following his passing, Reynolds had also reflected on getting to have that day on set with the longtime host, as well.

Ryan Reynolds actually even made an appearance in one of Alex Trebek’s final Jeopardy! episodes related to Trebek’s appearance in Free Guy, a movie that would have been out already if it had not been for the pandemic. So, you know, his connection to the Jeopardy debate is not totally out of left field, even if being so vociferous about LeVar Burton did come out of nowhere earlier this week.

Of course, LeVar Burton even taking a stab at the Jeopardy! gig has been a fan-favorite topic on the interwebs over the course of the past few months. Burton himself has been a staunch advocate that he’s the right person for the job and it was nice to see the longtime game show choose Burton as one of its final upcoming guest hosts. It’s hard to tell who the show will ultimately land on, but the wild ride of seeing so many different personalities and styles has been a nice change up for a show that had Trebek front and center for so many decades.

It’s also capably allowed the show to grow and change without someone having the burden of being the new Alex Trebek. It’s going to be hard even if a permanent host takes over months and months from now, but all these new faces have certainly made the transition a little bit easier.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.