Travis Kelce to star in 'Grotesquerie.' It's not his first time onscreen
Now that football season has officially kicked off, Travis Kelce has returned to the small screen (and so has the tight end’s girlfriend, Taylor Swift). This month, the Chiefs star also adds to his acting resume with Ryan Murphy’s FX drama “Grotesquerie” (Wednesdays, 10 EDT/PDT).
The 10-episode limited series centers on Detective Lois Tryon (Niecy Nash-Betts) who attempts to decipher who's behind a series of crimes and torments her with their wrongdoings. At a loss for leads, she partners with Sister Megan (Micaela Diamond), a nun and reporter, to find the culprit.
In May, Kelce told his brother, former Eagles center Jason Kelce, that filming has been “so much fun” on their "New Heights" podcast.
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Despite feeling like “an amateur,” Kelce, 34, celebrated the fact he hadn’t “gotten fired yet. So we’re doing good.” Unsure of how many episodes he’s in, he said, “Right now, I’m just taking it scene by scene and trying to make sure that I remember my lines.”
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The road to “Grotesquerie” has been paved with comedy and a little bit of reality TV. Here’s your look at Kelce’s previous entertainment touchdowns.
His dating show ‘Catching Kelce’ (2016)
While he might be dating “Miss Americana” now, Kelce once entertained 50 women, one from each state, for his E! dating show “Catching Kelce” that aired in fall 2016. He and winner Maya Benberry, from Kentucky, reportedly dated for a few months.
On “The Pivot Podcast” released in January 2023, Kelce described the experience as “extremely awkward, because I didn’t really have much to say about what we were doing on the show.” He said he felt like he “turned down the show about 100 times” due to concerns about reality television, but ultimately couldn’t resist the payday.
"I literally went through my first couple checks like it was nothing,” he said. “I was having so much fun buying whatever the hell I wanted to, going wherever the hell I wanted to. I wasn’t (thinking) I need to have money down the line. There were times in the offseason I was avoiding the rent lady; it was that bad. So I heard about this situation where I could make six figures in two weeks … and 50 ladies? I’m like, 'This is actually starting to sound a little better, a little intriguing.' But at the end of the day, I don’t think I got portrayed as myself.”
While Kelce swore off reality TV on the podcast, he participated in Amazon Prime Video’s “Kelce,” a documentary that captured him and Jason facing off in the 2023 Super Bowl.
All seven episodes of “Catching Kelce” are streaming on Peacock.
‘Moonbase 8’ (2020)
Kelce appeared as himself (albeit a demanding, hot-headed version) in the premiere of Showtime’s one-season comedy “Moonbase 8.” As part of a cross-promotion with the NFL, Kelce joined astronauts (played by Fred Armisen, Tim Heidecker and John C. Reilly) training to man the first station on the moon.
To solve the team’s water shortage, Kelce proposes the risky idea of digging a well. Spoiler alert: There's a reason he's only in the first episode: The ground gives way and Kelce is swallowed by a hole. His death is found to be a result of his own negligence (and none of the astronauts, thankfully for them).
Available for purchase on Amazon Prime.
‘Saturday Night Live' (2023)
Kelce hosted NBC’s long-running “Saturday Night Live” on March 4, 2023, shortly after winning his second Super Bowl. And the champ showed how much the gig meant to him during his monologue. “I grew up watching ‘SNL’ with my mother,” Kelce said with his parents and brother in the audience.
“I love (Will) Ferrell, the Sandman (Adam Sandler), Chris Farley. And to be standing on this stage, whew, pretty surreal,” Kelce added, getting choked up. “And tonight, I’m going to give it everything I got.”
During the show, Kelce played a guy too into his American Girl Dolls and was joined by Jason for a skit about the emotions experienced when you unexpectedly run into an ex.
According to a writer for the show, Kelce’s time hosting helped him land Swift. Last February, Ben Marshall (a member of the show's Please Don't Destroy) told Mike Birbiglia's "Working It Out" podcast that the group worked with Swift and Kelce before they started dating.
“She told us that she watched his ‘SNL’ episode and saw him in our video and was like, ‘Oh this guy seems funny and cool,’” Marshall said.
Check out Kelce’s comedy chops in the episode, available on Peacock.
"Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?" (October 16)
Kelce hosts Amazon Prime Video's reimagining of "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" formerly hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. "Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?" has taped 20 episodes which launch Oct. 16.
Each contestant vies for the $100,000 prize by trying their best to correctly answer 11 questions derived from a grade-school curriculum. Hopefuls can seek assistance from a group of celebrities. For the last question, and the cash prize, the player taps one celebrity to assist with their final answer.
Comedians Nikki Glaser, Natasha Leggero, Nicole Byer and Ron Funches will appear, along with Bravo celebrities Garcelle Beauvais ("The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills") and Lala Kent ("Vanderpump Rules").
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‘Happy Gilmore’ sequel (TBA)
Adam Sandler revealed Kelce would take a swing at the “Happy Gilmore” sequel during an August appearance on NBC's “The Tonight Show.”
Sandler expanded on the feature and Kelce’s role as a guest on "New Heights."
“We were talking about you playing my son while we were writing it, literally six months ago,” Sandler said on the Aug. 28 episode. The comedian added that Kelce will be joined by “so many great golfers. It's going to be amazing. You're going to be funny as hell.”
In the belated sequel, Happy (Sandler), a hockey player who turned to golf to save his grandmother’s home, is out of sorts: “Some stuff goes on in his life,” Sandler said. “He's a bit of a mess when you meet Happy, and then we try to get his life cooking again.”
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