You can almost hear the pitch meeting at the E! offices: “It’ll be like The Bachelor, but with a football player! Let’s get that Rob Gronkowski guy! He’d be perfect for this.”
For whatever reason, Gronkowski isn’t the star of the network’s upcoming reality dating show. Maybe he was busy. Perhaps he cost too much. Might Gronk have his own version of such a show in the works? It’s possible even he thought this sounded like a bad idea.
So how about doing the show, but with another NFL tight end? That might be what brings us Catching Kelce, a dating competition series that will premiere on E! later this year. The show will run for eight episodes and has to be the latest example of the NFL offseason being far too long, giving its players way too much time to find amusement for themselves.
“On top of being a well-respected athlete, Travis has a fun-loving, over the top personality that draws people to him, and we are excited to give our viewers an up-close look at his search for love,” said E! executive vice president of programming and development, Jeff Olde.
Kelce, 26, did have a strong season for the Chiefs, catching 72 passes for 875 yards and five touchdowns, all of which ranked second among Kansas City receivers in 2015. He will now also rank first among Chiefs players in reality TV dating competitions.
But this won’t just be a version of The Bachelor starring Kelce. No, this will mix in a little bit of Survivor too, as the women — 50 contestants, one from each state — in the competition will decide which of them goes on group dates with him. Sides will be taken, backs will be stabbed (not literally, we hope), insults will be thrown, alliances will be formed, and all that stuff. At some point, an announcer or host will probably say “the claws come out.” Or since a football player is involved, there will surely be a few “unnecessary roughness” and “unsportsmanlike conduct” cracks.
Actually, tracking football puns used throughout the show could make for strong drinking game material. This might be something to revisit once Catching Kelce airs.
Kelce will decide who ultimately stays and goes. And maybe, just maybe, some of his Chiefs teammates will help his decision-making along the way. Hopefully, one of the eight episodes will be an “after the final rose” type of show with Jesse Palmer (star of The Bachelor season five) sitting alongside his fellow football player/reality dating show star to offer a sympathetic ear. OK, that’s not going to happen. But Kelce might need someone to have his back at some point.
[Deadline]
