Shortly after Mike Richards announced his decision to step down as the new Jeopardy host, LeVar Burton followed up with a subtle tweet that appeared to please many of his fans. 

"Happy Friday, y’all!" the Reading Rainbow icon, who came up short in his bid to be selected as host of Jeopardy, said.

It didn't take long for social media users to make the connection between Burton's tweet and the announcement from Richards, who is also the executive producer of Jeopardy.

Burton's fans, who were devastated when Richards was selected as host earlier this month, appeared to be feeling better after seeing Friday's developments.

The executives at Sony Pictures Television launched their effort to find a new host in February after the death of Alex Trebek. Burton, who had a chance to host the show for a week as one of the candidates, described the opportunity as his dream job, HuffPost reported. 

Fans followed up with backlash after the producers selected Richards, who is accused of mistreating female staff members during his tenure as executive producer of The Price Is Right. As Blavity previously reported, the criticism escalated when The Ringer published an investigative piece on Wednesday to uncover more about the history of Richards, who also made a series of sexist remarks on a podcast he hosted from 2013 to 2014.

While the future of Jeopardy still remains unclear, fans are hoping for Burton to get a second chance and to be rewarded even more. 

Some are also advocating for Laura Coates, the CNN legal analyst who Trebek wanted to see as the next host of the show, according to Yahoo. 

While they wait for the decision, fans can at least enjoy the humor of Burton's tweet for now.

In his announcement on Friday, Richards said the "past incidents and comments have cast a shadow on Jeopardy!" He added that "moving forward as host would be too much of a distraction for our fans."

"I will now resume the search for a permanent syndicated host," he wrote. "We will be bringing back guest hosts to continue production for the new season, details of which will be announced next week." 

Sony Pictures TV expressed support for Richards to remain in his role as executive producer, but also acknowledged the allegations that have been raised, Variety reported.  

“We support Mike’s decision to step down as host,” the company said. “We were surprised this week to learn of Mike’s 2013/2014 podcast and the offensive language he used in the past.  We have spoken with him about our concerns and our expectations moving forward.”

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