The Sims franchise is getting a TV show–sort of. Electronic Arts has announced it will be partnering with Turner Sports’ esports and gaming entertainment brand ELeague to broadcast a new competition series centered on the popular game series The Sims. Titled The Sims Spark’d, the new show will debut on July 17 on TBS, and continue to air on subsequent Fridays through to August 7. BuzzFeed’s gaming vertical Multiplayer will be broadcasting the show digitally on the Mondays after the program has been televised.
According to a release, the contestants will compete in four episodes for a panel of celebrity judges to build the most creative and fully realized characters, world, and stories in The Sims 4. The grand prize is $100,000, and the judges include Maxis game developer Dave Miotke, YouTube personality Kelsey Impicciche, and singer-songwriter Tayla Parx.
“We are excited to introduce the highly-engaged Gen Z community of BuzzFeed Multiplayer to an inventive new form of storytelling within the imaginative world of The Sims,” Branden Smith, executive producer of BuzzFeed Multiplayer said in a statement. “Partnering with EA and TBS allows us to offer new experiences for fans and expand our core values by spreading an inclusive approach to gaming across platforms and screens.”
Coinciding with the show, a series of in-game challenges in The Sims 4 called the Spark’d Challenge Program will also debut on July 17. The release says by playing, “top creators can win a chance to be considered for a future season” of the show.
The Sims is a popular life-simulator series from EA that originally debuted in 2000. The Sims 4, first released in 2014, continues to get new content and expansions–including a recent update that prompted modders to remove an odd-looking cosmetic from the game.
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