Travis Kelce has Super Bowl rings on his fingers, pop star Taylor Swift on his arm, and a Ryan Murphy show on his filmography… but how does the NFL star do at a game-show podium?
Kelce is the host of Prime Video’s Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity, a trivia competition in which adult contestants answer elementary-level questions for a shot at a $100,000 prize. Helping them along — or maybe hindering them — are a classroom of celebrities.
And, it turns out, those stars were duly impressed by Kelce’s job hosting the show, which premieres with three episodes on Wednesday, October 16.
“We loved him,” comedian Natasha Leggero told Newsweek in a recent interview. “He was so cute, and he was so prepared. He really blew me away because I did not have very high expectations. … You could tell he took it really seriously, and he killed it.”
Loot actor Ron Funches added, “I got to watch his whole progression, and it was really fun to see him come in a little bit unsure, like anyone would be on their first day at a job, especially if it’s so different from your normal job. You know, he had some hiccups here and there, and you can see how much he did care.”
Other celebs in the classroom include comedians Nikki Glaser and Nicole Byer, Thursday Night Football analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick, former NFL wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Garcelle Beauvais, Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent, podcaster Sophia Stallone, and actor Lilly Singh.
Kelce is a big game show guy, as he said this April when his involvement in the Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader update was announced.
“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 Kansas City Chiefs tight end said at the time. “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.”
Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity, 3-Episode Premiere, Wednesday, October 16, Prime Video