Blake Shelton Says His Raucous New Game Show 'Barmageddon' Is 'The Hangover' with His Famous Pals

Blake Shelton is ready to rumble.

On Monday night, the country superstar's new show Barmageddon (co-created with close friend Carson Daly) will premiere at 11 p.m. on USA Network — and Shelton promises fans are in for a rollicking good time.

"What we were aiming for was real-life The Hangover," Shelton tells PEOPLE exclusively. "We wanted to try to capture that in a TV show with people that we know."

Hosted by WWE Fall of Famer Nikki Bella, the game show sees the stars' pals and loved ones — including Shelton's wife Gwen Stefani, Sheryl Crow, Trace Adkins, Kane Brown and more — battle it out at Shelton's Ole Red bar in Nashville.

"Unfortunately for Gwen and Sheryl, they were the very first episode that we actually taped. Gwen had to be the guinea pig for everybody else," says Shelton. "She and Sheryl both did so well and just let their hair down and went for it. They set the bar for the tone and personality of the series. It gave us the confidence to say, 'We really can do this.'"

"If these two icons are willing to be on this show and do shots of gross stuff and play absolutely stupid games, then we know we have something here,'" he adds.

While Shelton hadn't originally planned to partake in the over-the-top games himself, the Voice coach found himself facing off with Brown later in the season.

"Back in the day, I would say the 28-year-old version of Blake Shelton on Barmageddon [would have been] way different than the 46-year-old version now," he says. "Now I like to watch other people do stupid stuff — not necessarily be the one doing it."

Still, after a few days of filming, Shelton says he and Daly couldn't resist joining the fun. "We started playing the games with the contestants and the celebrities. We were becoming part of the show," he says. "I was always just going to be in the background and Carson was going to be making drinks and commenting. Next thing, because it's so much fun, I wanted to be a part of it."

The idea for the show was originally born during the pandemic when Shelton and Daly were sequestered on The Voice set.

"We're both very dumb men, and we come up with lots of what we think are great ideas," jokes Daly. "We almost started a beef jerky company."

The jerky idea may be dead in the water, but Daly feels confident their new show will strike a chord with fans.

"It's unadulterated fun. S--t talking was at the top of the list. Our friends showed up for us and it was a blast," says Daly. "I can't believe one of our idiotic ideas actually is happening."

"When we did Barmageddon, Blake was like, 'We have to have the right kind of celebrities on it who can check their ego at the door.' Blake and I don't wake up and go, 'Oh, we're those dudes from television.' We wake up and we're just normal dudes, and we like to have fun," he adds. "[This show] is adult spring break. There's no pressure and people get to see the real side of you."

Host Bella has been on several TV sets over the years, and the professional wrestler says the Barmageddon crew was "raw and real."

"Blake and Carson are so much fun and so hilarious. And then every guest that came through was just good times. They made me feel so comfortable off the bat," says Bella. "I had instant chemistry with the guys and all our guests. I am the queen of TMI, and it's the first place I was accepted so amazingly."