Travis Kelce’s next gig will be as a game show host. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end landed his first TV series job, and it’s hosting a spinoff of the Fox game show “Are You Smarter Than a 5thh Grader?” for Amazon’s Prime video. The new show is called “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?” and it will feature adult contestants answering sixth-grade level questions with the help of some famous faces. Amazon has ordered 20 episodes of the show hosted by the Super Bowl champ.
Kelce said, “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 the hosting side of the equation here and excited to see how these famous faces keep up.”
Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD originals unscripted and targeted programming, Amazon MGM Studios, “For years, fans around the world have tested their smarts with this fun, nostalgic game show, and we look forward to bringing this reimagined format to Prime Video. 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.”
In the show, an adult contestant “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 the elementary curriculum, in an effort to win a $100,000 prize. 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.” Barry Poznick, general manager of MGM Alternative and series co-creator, said, “After producing more than 3,000 episodes of “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” globally, we wanted to come up with a new, loud twist on the format. Replacing the kids with celebrities gives us more laughs and surprises, like a roast, as contestants cheat off their famous classmates. And now, with the ultimate class clown, Travis Kelce, hosting, viewers should expect the unexpected.”
The original U.S. version of “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” was co-created by Poznick and John Steven and hosted by comedian Jeff Foxworthy. The show premiered in 2007 to 27 million viewers and has remained the most-watched game show premiere in broadcast television history. Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl in February, defeating the San Francisco 49ers. His popularity has also grown exponentially beyond sports circles due to media and fan obsession with his ongoing romance with Taylor Swift.
In recent months, Kelce has been expanding his business efforts into other areas. He’s producing a documentary titled King Pleasure about artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. He recently also launched his music festival called Kelce Jam, which will take place April 28 in Kansas City and feature Machine Gun Kelly and Rock Ross. Kelce is also the co-host of the sports podcast New Heights.