Find me the twelve greatest sword fighters in the realm!

They come from the worlds of LARP, martial arts, reenactment, fencing and stage combat. Move them into a castle together and let the tournament begin.

Each episode introduces our contestants to a period weapon. A sword master trains them in the use of the weapon and the group competes in an athletic skills challenge suited to both the weapon of the week and the period from which the weapon comes. The two top-scoring competitors and the two bottom-scoring competitors face off in one-on-one combat, the former for a prize, the latter for elimination. The week’s loser is taken from the castle’s grounds in a period-appropriate conveyance.

All combat is fought in accordance with the Society for Creative Anachronism’s protocols for safety. Safety-fitted weapons camera match the live steel training weapons so that the sense of danger remains real for a viewing audience while the actual danger is minimized for the participants.

For the final episode, the castle itself becomes an obstacle course. The last two competitors overcome each obstacle to find a weapon in which they’ve been trained during the season. First to arrive will have a moment to breathe before the next fight commences.

The winner keeps the castle.

Castle Keep — a badass, unscripted, swashbuckling, reality/challenge series