Disney+ is testing to see if the force is strong with kids with Star Wars’ first game show format Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge.
Streaming exclusively on the SVOD in 2020, the live-action series pits kid contestants in Star Wars-inspired settings (a spaceship, forest planet and Jedi temple) and has them compete in physical challenges (such as obstacle courses) and mental games. Episode length and run time haven’t yet been announced.
Co-produced by Lucasfilm and Beverly Hills prodco Endeavor Content’s non-scripted division, it’s hosted by actor Ahmed Best (best known for playing quirky Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks in the franchise’s prequel films and animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars) and Mary Holland (VEEP), as a humanoid droid.
Developed by Lucasfilm’s director of franchise content and strategy Steve Blank and writer Scott Bromley (The Star Wars Show, Rebels Recon), the new series is executive produced by Lucasfilm’s senior director of online content and programming, Mickey Capoferri, and director of non-fiction development Christine Beebe. Endeavor’s SVP of original content David Chamberlin and SVP Michael Antinoro are producers on the show, alongside Dean Houser (On the Menu, The Sing-Off).
The streamer previously partnered with Endeavor on a 52-episode series and feature-length documentary titled One Day at Disney, which aims to give viewers a look behind the House of Mouse’s curtain.
The fledgling SVOD, although stocked with library content, only has three original competition series at the moment, including this new one. Its other offerings include Shop Class, which pits teams of inventive students against each other with the task of designing, building and testing new contraptions, which a panel of experts will rate. Also on the slate is cooking contest Be Our Chef where families face off to create Disney-themed creations.
While light on competition series, a few of Disney+’s other unscripted titles include Disneynature’s Dolphin Reef, Marvel’s first non-fiction series Marvel’s Hero Project and Disney Television Studio’s docuseries Pick of the Litter.