They’re it
Pewaukee’s Watt brothers are back on TV, not on the football field, but as hosts of a competition show.
The Watt brothers are scheduled to be on the same football field in Week 3 of the 2020 NFL season.
With J.J.’s Houston Texans heading to Pittsburgh for a game Sept. 27 against Derek’s and T.J.’s Steelers, this will be the first time the Pewaukee brothers will be on the same field together for a game — not counting their backyard.
However, the coronavirus pandemic has left uncertainty over whether the NFL season will happen this fall or if the current schedule will still unfold as planned.
But we won’t have to wait until then, anyway, to see the Watt brothers together.
J.J., Derek and T.J. are co-hosting a new competition game show called “Ultimate Tag.” The hour-long show premieres at 8 p.m. Wednesday on Fox, locally on WITI-TV (Channel 6).
“Growing up together, our backyard games could get pretty intense, never more so than when we played tag, a childhood game we all know,” J.J. said in a promotional video posted on the show’s Instagram account.
“Ultimate Tag” is that schoolyard game “blown up to the ultimate level,” J.J. said.
Don’t get caught
J.J. is the lead host, and Derek and T.J. will have roles similar to a sideline reporter.
“Then we really try to get out of the way and let the action do the talking,” J.J. said in a video posted to the show’s Twitter account.
And there will be plenty of action. Contestants will navigate five types of obstacle courses all while trying to avoid getting caught.
But it won’t be easy.
They’ll be chased by an elite group of ultimate taggers who all specialize in various athletic skills, including parkour, stuntmen/stuntwoman and fitness trainers.
Filmed before pandemic
The brothers, who all graduated from Pewaukee High School and played football at Wisconsin, filmed the show last year, meaning our world looked different then.
So don’t be surprised when you see an audience sitting shoulder-toshoulder.
There will be high-fiving and yes, touching, after the contestants get caught.
But if competitors can survive, the courses get more extreme as they try to outlast the competition.
Watts are TV stars
Just as they are football stars, the Watts are becoming TV stars.
J.J. has appeared in movies and TV shows over the years as his stardom has continued to grow.
But together, their brand as an NFL trio is blossoming now that all three are in the league and experiencing sustained success.
The brothers recently shot commercials with their parents promoting Subway. They also shot commercials for Gatorade a couple years ago to promote hydration.
Big offseason for the family
Before the coronavirus pandemic struck, J.J., 31, hosted “Saturday Night Live” in February. A couple weeks later, he married soccer star, Kealia Ohai, in the Bahamas.
After a huge season, T.J., 25, finished third in the NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting at the NFL Honors, the same night J.J. hosted “SNL.”
A couple of months later, Derek, 27, left the Los Angeles Chargers after four years and signed a three-year worth $9.75 million to play for the Steelers, teaming up with his younger brother for the first time since their days at Wisconsin.
And last month, J.J. was named to the NFL’s all-decade team, one of only eight players to be selected unanimously. J.J. has earned three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards in his nine years with the Texans. J.J. is coming off a season in which he suffered a torn pectoral in Week 8 of the 2019 season, his third such injury in four years. But he returned for the team’s postseason games in January.
Whether the three will have their meeting at Heinz Field in 2020 is to be determined. But for now, we’ll get to watch the Watts in a game show setting, an environment they’re getting familiar with.
“It’s literally like watching a sport, there’s fans in the arena,” J.J. said. “We’re all excited, we’re all jacked up.”