October 27, 2014 (2014-10-27) – June 24, 2015 (2015-06-24)[1]
Fake Off is an American reality competition 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, and dance. 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.[2] 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., Pop Star Rozonda Thomas and renowned choreographer Michael Curry.[3] The series features ten teams of performers who each week are given a new pop-culture theme (such as action movies, reality television, the Moon landing, 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.[2] After eight episodes one team wins the title of America's Best Fakers and $100,000.
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".
Team
Theme
Harry
Laurieann
Beau
Judges' Total
Audience
Total
Result
Academy of Villains
Horror Movies
8
8
9
25
10
35
Safe/Highest Score
Astra Dance Theatre
Fantasy Movies
8
8
7
23
8
31
Safe
CubeMetricks
Sci-Fi Movies
7
7
7
21
7
28
Safe
On The Fly
Kung Fu Movies
6
7
7
20
7
27
Safe
ClownSnotBombs
Silent Movies
6
8
5
19
7
26
Safe/Lowest Score
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.”[4]
