Fake Off Episode #1 + Harry Shum Jr. + truTV

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.