News of the sportsman’s latest gig was confirmed on Tuesday, April 16, in an announcement from the video-streaming platform.
MGM Alternative, a division of Amazon MGM Studios, is producing the series, which will stream in more than 240 countries.
“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 revealed in a statement. “The original show is a great success, so to be bringing a new format with everyone’s favourite 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,” he quipped.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce celebrates with Taylor Swift after his team's Superbowl win over the Baltimore Ravens. Photo / Getty Images
Celebrities such as Jeff Foxworthy and John Cena have similarly turned to game shows as a side hustle, both hosting Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
The game show, which was created by John Steven and Barry Poznick,debuted in February 2007 on Fox. The show featured Foxworthy at the helm and ran for four years before it was cancelled. It was brought back in 2015, again with Foxworthy as host, for one more season.
In 2019, Nickelodeon revived the show for a season with Cena at the helm.
Since then, the Are You Smarter brand has been made into a board game, a book and a late-night version of the game show series.
Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? ”offers a fun, new twist on the premise of the original popular format”, according to Prime Video.
Musical guest Kelsea Ballerini, host Travis Kelce, and special guest Jason Kelce during the Goodnights & Credits on Saturday Night Live in March last year. Photo / Getty Images
“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 US$100,000 ($170,000) prize,” the new concept’s description details. “They are not competing against the stars …they’re enlisting their help and, in some cases, can even ‘cheat’ off of them.”
When it comes down to the last question, which is worth US$100,000, the contestants are posed with a sixth-grade-level question and have to choose “one celebrity to discuss the answer with before locking in”.
This isn’t Kelce’s first time making an appearance on television.
The NFL star featured in Catching Kelce, an E! reality dating show, in 2016. Kelce also nabbed a coveted spot on Saturday Night Live in March last year.
The eight-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro is also a co-host on sports podcast New Heights with his brother, recently retired NFL icon Jason Kelce.
