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Spike

A preview of the Lip Sync Battle show

Lip Sync Battle with John Legend as MC Hammer

by Andy Dehnart 20 Feb. 2015 | 10:12 am

Spike TV’s Lip Sync Battle show filmed its 10 episodes in January, and now we have our first glimpse of what a full-on series with celebrities lip-syncing looks like–and what’s there is pretty damn cool.

The show takes Jimmy Fallon’s bit and turns it into a reality TV competition; it’s produced in part by Fallon along with John Krasinski and Stephen Merchant, who did lip sync battles on Fallon’s show.

The clip reveals that the Lip Sync Battle show takes the bit much further, as is to be expected, with dancers, costumes, and lights turning the lip sync into mini music videos. Though, honestly, when you have performers such as Stephen Merchant and Joseph Gordon Levitt performing like this, I’m not sure all the extras are necessary:

The lip sync battle Spike TV-style

The reality TV competition version debuts April 2 and is hosted by LL Cool J, and the celebrities will be “battling for the coolest bragging rights on the planet”–i.e. there’s no prize or any real stakes.

Here’s how the show “this show is going to bring it to a whole new level,” as LL Cool J promised in the press release announcing the series. It looks fun, but the real question is how this will fill a half-hour episode.

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about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Pacific Standard, and other publications. He has covered reality television for more than 18 years, and created reality blurred in 2000.

A member of the Television Critics Association, Andy, 40, directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. More about reality blurred and Andy.

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reality blurred is your guide to the world of reality TV and unscripted entertainment, with reality show reviews, news, and analysis. It was created in 2000 by Andy Dehnart. He's still writing and publishing it today.

reality blurred is regularly updated with highlights from the world of reality TV: news and analysis; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of these reality TV shows, including Survivor, Big Brother, The Great British Baking Show, Shark Tank, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef, and many more.

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