''Fake Off'' is an American
reality competition
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
television series. The show features groups of performers who recreate and reimagine moments from pop culture (e.g. movies, events, television series) in spectacular 90-second routines. The teams use a diverse range of stage disciples including
black light theatre,
projection mapping,
puppetry
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a perform ...
, and
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
. The term "Faking" is used to describe the act of recreating an iconic moment. It debuted on
TruTV on October 27, 2014, and is produced by
Shine America.
TruTV renewed the show for a second season, which was also its last.
Summary
The knock-out performance competition is hosted by
Robert Hoffman and judged by actor and dancer
Harry Shum, Jr.
Harry Shum Jr. (born April 28, 1982) is an American actor, dancer, choreographer, and singer. He is best known for his roles as Mike Chang on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox television series ''Glee (TV series), Glee'' (2009–15), List of Grey ...
, Pop Star
Rozonda Thomas and renowned choreographer Michael Curry. The series features ten teams of performers who each week are given a new pop-culture theme (such as
action movies
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
,
reality television,
the moon landing
Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, and ...
, or
the Olympic Games). Each team has one week to turn their theme into a 90-second Fake that is then scored by the three judges and the studio audience. The team whose Fake got the lowest score is eliminated from the competition. The Fakes consist of visually stunning special effects that are generated by the group through various stagecraft techniques.
After eight episodes one team wins the title of America's Best Fakers and $100,000.
Contestants
Competition summary
Season 1
Week 1
;Running order
Week 2
;Running order
Week 3
Season 2
The judges are
Harry Shum Jr.,
Laurieann Gibson, and
Beau Casper Smart.
The host is
Corbin Bleu.
Meghan Camarena is the backstage correspondent.
10 new teams competed in Season 2 (Academy of Villains, Astra Dance Theatre, ClownSnotBombs, CubeMetricks, The Deca Crew, JUNK, LUMA, On The Fly, The Surrealists, Tribe of Fools).
* Winners: Academy of Villains
* Runners-Up: Cubametricks
* 3rd Place: The Surrealists
* 4th Place: Tribe of Fools
* Eliminated: Astra Dance Theatre, LUMA, ClownSnotBombs, The Deca Crew, JUNK, On The Fly
Week 1
The theme of the week was "Movie Night".
Reception
The show received a positive reception from critics when it launched in October 2014. Allison Keene from ''
The Hollywood Reporter'' wrote “TruTV has truly created a flashy and worthwhile series that is cut above current competition series, and far more exciting than yet another iteration of a singing show.” Pilot Viruet from Flavorwire wrote “I think Fake Off is my new favorite unscripted program, it was completely mesmerizing.”
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fake Off
2014 American television series debuts
2015 American television series endings
2010s American reality television series
English-language television shows
TruTV original programming