Monday, November 03, 2014
From The Hollywood Reporter
Fake Off is the first of several new shows that, beginning Oct. 27, will come to define truTV and its new tagline: "Way More Fun." It's a far cry from its origins as Court TV, and later, as a network devoted to crime shows that devolved into a mishmash of reality programing. But with its rebrand, truTV's parent company Turner Broadcasting is hoping to create a channel (currently reaching more than 93 million homes — 79 percent of the TV audience) that attracts "funseekers." Fake Off is a strong start. Its setup feels like a broadcast competition series, which makes sense since the show is a pastiche of many successful forebears. As on American Idol and its copycats, there are three judges: visual concept designer Michael Curry (Broadway's The Lion King), Grammy winner and former TLC chanteuse Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, and actor-dancer-choreographer Harry Shum Jr., most recently seen on the Fox series Glee. Each judge awards the performances a score from 1 to 10, which are added up and then combined with the audience's score (which is weighted like a fourth judge, a la Dancing With the Stars). The ultimate prize for the winning team (one is eliminated each week starting in the second round) is $100,000.