Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity? premieres October 16 with three episodes on Prime Video.
By Elazar Abrahams
Amazon Prime’s new game show Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity? is their first launch of a few series that will build out what the company is calling its “Winning Wednesday” programming lineup. It’s hosted by none other than NFL star Travis Kelce, one of a few moves he’s made recently that seem to be setting out a pivot from the end zone to Hollywood once the Chiefs tight end decides to retire from football. The setup is familiar to anyone who has watched Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?, with trivia questions pulled from an elementary curriculum and a contestant trying to win $100,000. Now, instead of kids in the picture, there is a rotating panel of celebrities helping the player along the way. It sounds fun in theory, but after previewing the first two episodes, it’s clear that this game show falls short of delivering that star-powered magic.
Instead of competing against celebrities, the contestant enlists them for help with questions. While this collaboration could’ve injected some playful energy, the format drains the tension, leaving the trivia feeling more like a pop quiz you didn’t bother studying for. You can’t help but wish the show had leaned into an actual competition between regular folks and celebs. There’s just not enough excitement in watching one contestant move unopposed, no matter how charming the celebrities are.
That said, the rotating celeb panel does its best to liven things up. Nikki Glaser’s sharp humor and Ron Funches’ lovable antics definitely add some shine, but it’s not enough to make the format feel exciting. At 42 minutes, the episodes drag, and it seems that this show would have worked better in a shorter, half-hour format. Even with that padded runtime, we only get about a minute to get to know the contestant on stage, their motivations, and how they plan to spend the prize money they’re after. Without much tension or stakes, it’s hard to stay hooked, and while categories are switched up each round to keep questions fresh, like the host’s beau might say, “I think I’ve seen this film before, and I didn’t like the ending.”
So how does Kelce do as host? I’m sure that’s what everyone will want to know. Let’s just say he’s no Jeopardy emcee, but he’s… passable. Travis is clearly comfortable on camera but has surprisingly little to do here. He reads the questions and answers and directs the flow of the game, but it’s the celebrity panel that does most of the quipping. Frankly, if he were to be swapped out with anyone else, the show would not change at all. You can decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity? is a lame product, but perhaps actual game show fans will enjoy it. I can’t speak to that. I found it boring, and the cringe-inducing Amazon product placement didn’t help.
I give Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity? a D.
TV and City 