Are you smarter than a celebrity? Travis Kelce set to find out for Amazon
NFL star Travis Kelce has been tapped to host Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity? for Amazon Prime Video.
The forthcoming game show is a spin-off of Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?, which sees adult contestants answer questions from elementary school textbooks against a child aged nine to 11.
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end is coming off the back of a Super Bowl victory this year over the San Francisco 49ers.
The big game was attended by Kelce’s girlfriend, pop music megastar Taylor Swift.
“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?. 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,” Kelce said in a statement.
According to an official logline, the series will welcome an adult contestant who will rely on a classroom full of celebrities to help them answer 11 questions on a range of subjects pulled from the elementary school curriculum.
The contestants are not competing against the celebrities but enlisting their help in an effort to win the $100,000 prize.
On the final question, worth $100,000, the contestant selects one celebrity to discuss the answer with before locking in, Deadline reports. Amazon has ordered a 20-episode series.
Kelce previously starred in the 2016 reality dating show Catching Kelce for USA Network, in which 50 women from each US state competed for the football player’s heart.
“Travis has proven to be an incredible talent on and off the field, and we appreciate the trust he has placed in us with his first foray into television. His natural, comedic dynamic with our panelists and guests, coupled with some exciting new twists, will keep our global customers coming back week after week,” added Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD originals unscripted and targeted programming, Amazon MGM Studios.
Over the weekend, Swift and Kelce were seen dancing together during Bleachers’ set at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. The band’s frontman, Jack Antonoff, is one of Swift’s biggest collaborators.
During an interview with People, published on 3 April, the Chiefs player acknowledged that he’s attended the Indio-based festival multiple times over the years, and would be happy to have the opportunity to go again.
“I am a Coachella guy,” he said. “I love going to Coachella. I love live music in general. So you might see me pop up over there at some point.”