Roku Orders Battle of the Streaming Stars With Terry Crews
Roku has ordered Battle of the Streaming Stars, a new version of Battle of the Network Stars built around small-screen stars facing off in sporting contests.
The title signals the update. Network stars become streaming stars. The commission is for two hour-long specials, meaning standalone programmes made outside a full series order. Both will stream exclusively on the Roku Channel, so viewers will need to watch there, with no other platform announced. The first arrives on 23 October, with the second scheduled for early next year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Terry Crews will host the contests. The actor and presenter will also serve as an executive producer, a senior role that typically includes creative oversight and key decisions.
He will be joined by Kay Adams on the sidelines. Her role is to report from the edge of the action and speak to competitors during play. Yvette Nicole Brown will act as referee, ruling on the contests and keeping the teams in order.
The prize fits the platform. The winning team will receive a golden Roku remote. It will go to the team as a whole, rather than to an individual champion. It is a trophy with a wink to where the show lives.
Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions will produce the specials. Manning is an executive producer alongside Jamie Horowitz, Colin Campbell and Dan Gati. That group holds the senior producing credits on the project.
Day-to-day production sits with showrunner Keith Geller. A showrunner leads the creative team and organises the shoot from rehearsal through to delivery. Sean Boyle and Louisa L. Friedman will oversee the specials on behalf of Roku Originals, the team that commissions and manages the company's own programmes.
For viewers, the format means a short commitment. There is no season to follow week to week. Viewers can dip in for one night without following a longer story. Two evenings. Two contests. A result on the night.
The line-ups for the competing teams and the events they will contest have not yet been disclosed. What is set is the slot, the hosts and the prize.
