If there’s any current professional athlete who has his sights set on pop culture stardom after their playing career ends, it’s Travis Kelce.
Taylor Swift’s boyfriend took a big step forward Tuesday in his quest to remain a household name once his Kansas City Chiefs playing days are over.
Prime Video announced that it has ordered 20 episodes of Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?, a spin-off of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Kelce will host the game show, which has a familiar format for fans of the original version.
“Each game will welcome an adult contestant who will rely on a classroom full of celebrities from stage, screen, and sports to help them answer 11 questions on a range of subjects, pulled from elementary curriculum, in an effort to win a $100,000 prize,” reads the press release. “They are not competing against the stars…they’re enlisting their help and, in some cases, can even ‘cheat’ off of them. And on the final question, worth $100,000, the contestant selects one celebrity to discuss the answer with before locking in. The final question is always at the 6th-grade level.”
Along with his New Heights podcast, which he co-hosts with brother Jason Kelce, producing films and documentaries, and launching his own music festival, Travis is making major in-roads in the entertainment and media spaces.
“I grew up loving game shows, and I’m excited to be following in the footsteps of so many TV icons by hosting my very first one with Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity,” Kelce said. “The original show is a great success, so to be bringing a new format with everyone’s favorite celebrities to the screen, will definitely be entertaining. I’m just happy to be on the hosting side of the equation here and excited to see how these famous faces keep up.”
A premiere date for the game show was not included in the announcement.
[Prime Video, THR]
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.