'The Titan Games:' Executive Producer Anthony Storm Opens up About Biggest Changes in Season 2 (Exclusive)

Sports are slowing returning during the coronavirus pandemic and fans will be in for a treat on Memorial Day. The second season of The Titan Games is here, which means viewers will see Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson every week on NBC. The first season of The Titan Games was a success, averaging five million viewers per episode. PopCulture.com recently got to speak to executive producer Anthony Storm about Season 2, which will be a lot different from the first season.

"The format has changed considerably," Storm said to PopCulture. "I'm really excited about it. Last season, at the end of every episode, we crown a male and a female Titan, and we didn't see them again until the end of the season when all the Titans faced each other. This year, it's king of the hill. If you win at the end of your episode, you come back next week, and you have to defend your title against two new challengers." Storm went on to explain why this changed was made. "It's an opportunity to get more connected to our athletes, follow their journeys further and to spend more time with the ones we really fall in love with," he added.

One of the other significant changes is the addition of Celebrity Titans to compete against the 36 "everyday people." Johnson, who is also an executive producer on the show, handpicked the Celebrity Titans, which include former NFL stars Victor Cruz and Joe Thomas, former UFC Champion, boxing champion Claressa Shields, stuntwoman Jessie Graff and snowboarder Hannah Teter. "They were people that he admired," Storm said. "He's a huge fan of people that put in the work and all of these athletes fit the bill. These are real grinders."

Fans are happy to see The Titan Games returning, and it comes at a time new sports content is needed. Initially, the release for the second season of The Titan Games was set for early 2021. But with TV productions on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, it made sense to move the show up.

"We saw an opportunity with the sports landscape bare as it is right now," Storm said. "People are just desperate for sports programming and competition. We were one of the few shows that got our shoot in before the pandemic. We did have the ability to get our post-production done remotely. To move out airdate up it just seems like an opportunity we're capitalizing on. People want sports and we got sports. We got Dwayne Johnson hosting a sports show. It's a prime opportunity."

With changes in the competition and the addition of Celebrity Titans, Season 2 of The Titan Games has a chance to be the sports show of the summer. And if the second season is a success, it could lead to more seasons down the road.

"It was an incredibly successful shoot and competition," Storm said. "People will see as the episodes go on. The challenges are spectacular. The athletes have incredible stories of perseverance and will-power. [...] We're really confident people are really going to love the show, and hopefully, there will be a Season 3, a Season 4 and many more."