Competitors create original characters in cosplay competition series
The cosplay’s the thing: If you’ve ever been to Comic-Con (or even if you haven’t), you probably know how seriously cosplay enthusiasts take their costumes. Some of the characters embodied at these conventions look like they could have been pulled straight from a movie set. Syfy is giving viewers an idea of what goes into creating these intricate and detailed cosplay outfits with “Cosplay Melee,” premiering Tuesday, March 21.
Some may recall another similarly themed Syfy series, “Heroes of Cosplay,” which aired in 2013 and drew major criticism for its gross misrepresentation of the cosplay community and its manufactured drama. It seems the network listened to the outraged cosplayers, who felt the series did them a great disservice; “Cosplay Melee” steps away from the “unscripted drama” format of “Heroes,” and instead celebrates the craft of cosplay via competition.
The series is hosted by self-proclaimed “super-fangirl” Yvette Nicole Brown, of “Community” fame, and takes a page out of the book of “Face Off,” another Syfy competition series now in its 11th season.While “Face
Off” is centered on creating film-worthy prosthetic makeup looks, “Cosplay Melee” takes things further. In each episode, four hardcore cosplayers compete against one another, not just to create and put together elaborate, full-body costumes, but to design original characters inspired by science fiction and pop culture, complete with origin stories. They then have to don their creations to fully embody the character — acting the part and all — and whoever most impressively completes the transformation walks away with a $10,000 prize. Not a bad payout for a day of dress-up.
In the first round, the cosplayers have eight hours to create an accessory of some kind — a weapon, a piece of armor or an appendage, for example. Those who make it through to the next round have two days to bring together the full costume that goes with it, and nail down the character they’ll be taking on.
Providing guidance and critique throughout the process is the rest of the judging panel, which, aside from Brown, consists of first-rate cosplayer LeeAnna Vamp (“Pool Party Massacre,” 2016) and Christian Beckman, a blockbuster costume designer who lists “The Last Airbender” (2010) and “TRON: Legacy” (2010) among his credits.At the end of each episode, the panel lines up in front of the runway to lay judgment on the final products.
“Cosplay Melee” premieres Tuesday, March 21, on Syfy.
Twinoff: Exactly how many spinoff shows can “The Bachelor” lay claim to at this point? Have we hit a round halfdozen yet? Not quite, but if all the “Pads” and “Paradises” and “After Paradises” aren’t enough to satisfy your post “Bachelor“/“Bachelorette” fix, there’s a new installment of the latest spinoff coming your way: this one is specifically centered on those sunny blondes best known as The Twins (they do have their very own names, but I’ll get to that). “The Twins: Happily Ever After?” premieres Monday, March 20, on Freeform.
Emily and Haley Ferguson, the first twins to appear in “The Bachelor,” first showed their identical faces (and hairstyles) in season 20 of the show, featuring Ben Higgins. Ben, as it happens, was the focus of the last “Happily Ever After?” season, which follows him and fiancée Lauren Bushnell as they start their new life together as a couple (I can’t quite bring myself to say anything akin to “real life” since, you know, they still have cameras following them everywhere).
Emily and Haley were fan favorites during Ben’s season, and also made regular appearances in “Happily Ever After.”They cropped up again in the third season of “Bachelor in Paradise,” but, sadly, still failed to find love.
“Happily Ever After?” follows the 25-year-old twins as they venture out from under their mom’s roof and take life’s next big step into independence (independence together, but independence nonetheless).They’ll try to figure out life as full-fledged adults in their hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada, and try to nail down new careers.
The sisters, for all their featherheadedness (or perhaps, in part, because of it) have actually been a breath of fresh air in both “The Bachelor” and “Bachelor in Paradise.”They’re much less catty than many of the women the franchise tends to draw, and aren’t interested in backstabbing or clawing anyone’s eyes out for the sake of a rose.They also regularly dropped some of the best gems the shows delivered — even if they weren’t always deliberately being funny (no, Miss Ferguson, Antarctica is not one of the 50 states). In short, they’re generally well-liked by audiences and “Bachelor” participants alike, so it’s not terribly surprising to see that they’ve landed an installment that’s all twins, all the time.
Of course, we can still expect to see some mainstays of the Bachelor universe making regular appearances, just as the twins frequently showed up last season. In fact, Ben and Lauren, with whom they’ve stayed close, will reportedly be the Fergusons’ very first guests stars, appearing in both the season premiere and at least one other episode.
Catch the premiere of “The Twins: Happily Ever After?” when it airs Monday, March 20, on Freeform.