TBS Sets Jan. 17 Premiere and Announces Contestants for New Unscripted Competition Series "King of the Nerds"

Thursdays are about to get nerd-tastic. TBS has announced its new unscripted competition series King of the Nerds will air Thursdays at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), beginning Jan. 17. Hosted by actors Robert Carradine and Curtis Armstrong (Revenge of the Nerds), King of the Nerds is the ultimate nerd-off. The series will follow 11 fierce competitors from across the nerd spectrum as they set out to win $100,000 and be crowned the greatest nerd of them all. TBS will pair King of the Nerds on Thursday nights with the network's chart-topping telecasts of The Big Bang Theory.

The 11 competitors that will partake in this ultimate nerd-off are:

· Alana, 26 - Corning, N.Y. - Live-action role player and comic fan who often uses onomatopoeia instead of adjectives.

· Brandon, 24 - Somerville, Mass. - Tufts University Medical School student and aspiring neuroscientist who can also rap.

· Celeste, 22, - Orillia, Ontario - Professional gamer who specializes in first-person shooters and speedcuber, and whose favorite animal is the cougar.

· Danielle, 23 - Rome, N.Y. - Game reviewer who has more than 100,000 subscribers for her gaming vlog and considers her appearance to be top of the charts at a "nerd 10."

· Genevieve, 27 - Studio City, Calif. - Test-prep and young adult fantasy writer who thinks she hits all the right notes when expressing her feelings by singing original songs.

· Hendrik, 26 - Somerville, Mass. - MIT grad student who is researching the mechanical properties of the Martian polar ice caps and enjoys foraging for wild edibles.

· Ivan, 27 - Torrance, Calif. - Game developer and fire dancer who loves dragons and zombies.

· Jon, 22 - Atlanta, Ga. - Georgia Tech student who is obsessed with mathematics and theoretical physics, who also loves to rock out.

· Joshua, 24 - Los Angeles, Calif. - Host and producer of geek-themed web show who was a former paranormal investigator.

· Moogega, 26 - Pasadena, Calif. - Planetary protection engineer at NASA who received her master's degree and PhD by the time she was 22 and who considers herself the life of any party.

· Virgil, 28 - Pasadena, Calif. - A master hacker studying brain science who loves colorful socks.

TBS's King of the Nerds will take the glory of nerd-dom to a whole new level as the 11 competitors live together in "Nerdvana." Each week, they must face challenges that will test their intellect, ingenuity, skills and pop-culture prowess. Each episode, the nerds will first compete as teams and then as individuals, facing challenges that range from live gaming to a dance-off to life-sized chess. One competitor will be eliminated each week until one nerd stands alone as the ultimate champion off all things nerdy.

King of the Nerdsis executive-produced by Ben Silverman (The Biggest Loser, The Office) and Jimmy Fox (Mob Wives) of Electus, Rick Ringbakk (The Amazing Race), and Craig Armstrong (Survivor) of 5X5 Media, as well as Carradine and Armstrong.