I Just Watched ‘Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity’ &, Guys, Travis Kelce Was Born to Be a Game Show Host

Alright, I have a confession to make. When I heard that Kansas City Chiefs player and boyfriend of Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, would serve as the host of Prime Video’s Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity, my expectations were not high. I mean, yes, the star athlete proved he's got some acting chops in Ryan Murphy's Grotesquerie, but hosting a trivia game show in front of a live audience is very different from portraying a flirty nurse on a horror drama.

To be fair, my exposure to game shows is mostly limited to Family Feud and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, but I've seen enough to know that it takes quite a bit of charisma and humor to do the job well. Plus, hosts are solid communicators and quick thinkers who can expertly navigate surprises to keep things running smoothly. So, you can understand why I wasn't sure how the football player would live up to these expectations.

Now, two episodes later, all my doubts are gone, because Kelce is actually really good.

In case you're unfamiliar with the game show series, it invites contestants to answer a series of questions about things they learned in grade school. Each question is categorized by grade and subject, and the contestant gets a chance to win up to $100,000. But if they ever get stuck, they can enlist the help of a classroom full of celebrities—like Nikki Glaser, Nicole Byer and Ryan Fitzpatrick.

In the first episode, from the moment he first appears on the stage, it seems like Kelce is completely at ease. With a dazzling smile, he eggs on the crowd, busts a few moves and looks directly into the camera as he welcomes everyone to the show. Then, he greets the very first contestant and proceeds to shower him with encouragement and compliments before breaking down the basics of the game.