Topline
NFL Tight End Travis Kelce is venturing onto the small screen with a role in horror creator Ryan Murphy's latest FX show "Grotesquerie" alongside "Reno 911" actress Niecy Nash-Betts, the pair shared in a celebratory Instagram post to mark the athlete's first big acting gig.
Travis Kelce during the Monologue on Saturday, March 4, 2023.
Key Facts
Kelce called the role "new territory" in a short video with Nash-Betts, who is one of only three other confirmed actors for the high-profile series from the creator of "American Horror Story."
Nash-Betts and Kelce will act alongside Courtney B. Vance ("Lovecraft Country") and Lesley Manville ("Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris") for the show, which has just started production, according to Deadline.
Details on “Grotesquerie” are scant, but the promo for the series, released in February, called it a "new horror drama series" set to premiere in the fall.
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Crucial Quote
“I don’t know what’s started. I can’t put my finger on it. But it’s different now,” Nash-Betts could be heard saying in an audio teaser shared by Murphy earlier this year. “There’s been a shift. It’s like something’s opening up in the world. A kind of hole to the center of nothingness.”
Key Background
Kelce's celebrity skyrocketed over the last 12 months largely due to high-profile brand deals, the release of a documentary centered on his brother Jason Kelce, his public relationship with pop star Taylor Swift and his 2024 Super Bowl win. The Kelce family was thrust into the spotlight with the release of the "Kelce" documentary on Amazon, which became the most-watched documentary on Prime Video in the United States last fall, and Jason and Travis Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast skyrocketed in popularity after Travis used it to get the attention of his now-girlfriend. Kelce made his acting debut hosting “Saturday Night Live” in March of 2023 and appeared again in October when he made an unannounced cameo in the opening sketch of "SNL" about the mania surrounding his then-rumored relationship with Swift.
