We judge the reality-TV judges
What makes a good reality TV judge? Is it cruelty? Niceness? Industry experience? Cute outfits? A Coca-Cola cup?
Ever since Fox’s “American Idol” burst onto the TV scene in 2002, producers have looked for the ineffable formula for creating TV gold at the judging table, with mixed success.
As John Legend joins “The Voice” for its 16th season Monday (NBC, 8 EST/ PST) and “Project Runway” returns to its original home on Bravo next month, we offer the five best and five worst reality TV judging teams of all time. (Pro tip for new shows: Leave Nicole Scherzinger to singing.)
The 5 best
5. “The Voice,” Season 12: Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani and Alicia Keys
“The Voice” is unique among reality TV competition series because the judges (called “coaches”) are more important than the aspiring singers. The NBC series is all about these celebrities, their jokes, their interactions and their music careers. Season 12’s brilliant panel balanced the personalities perfectly and had so much chemistry that Shelton and Stefani began a highly publicized romance.
4. “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Seasons 711: RuPaul Charles, Michelle Visage, Ross Mathews and Carson Kressley
As “Drag Race” has evolved, so has the style of the judging panel. Back when “Project Runway” alum Santino Rice was a regular, the Logo and now VH1 competition involved more design and sewing work. The new, more performance-driven vibe of the series has changed its judging to match, and in recent seasons Visage and Mathews have shined the brightest. The two judges add support and a genial vibe to foil RuPaul’s diva persona. The only thing that keeps this panel from being higher on the list is Kressley, who is a nothing presence at the table.
3. “The Great British Baking Show,” Seasons 1-6 (U.S.): Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood
Part of the absolute delight of this British import, seen on PBS and Netflix, is how its prim and proper judges manage to be both fair and kind, teaching the contestants and audience about baking without being mean. In the series’ original run, the pomposity of bread master Paul Hollywood was checked by the grandmotherly vibe of cake queen Mary Berry. But in more recent seasons, after Berry was replaced by Prue Leith, Hollywood’s ego has been far more unchecked, disturbing the delicate balance of salty and sweet at the gingham altar.
2. “Project Runway,” Seasons 1-10: Michael Kors, Nina Garcia and Heidi Klum
No offense to replacement judge Zac Posen, but when Kors departed “Runway” after its 10th season in 2012, part of the magic of the series left with him. The “Runway” judges have never been overly kind, but Kors had a way with snappy, almost cruel one-liners in a way that no one else on the series has. Kors, Garcia and Klum made the Lifetime episodes’ runway shows the most entertaining part of the hour.
1. “American Idol,” Seasons 1-7: Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson
There couldn’t be any other group for No. 1. The judging panel that all subsequent panels aspire to had everything: acerbic Cowell, loopy Abdul and laidback Jackson. They made perfect characters for the “Idol” story with a villain, a hero and a peacemaker (Cowell told the truth, Abdul tried to be nice, and Jackson see-sawed between them). Their banter, disagreements and exasperated looks were a huge part of the show’s appeal, but the trio never overpowered the contestants. Turning the focus from the singers to the judges is part of what led to the series’ decline and part of its shortcoming on ABC, where Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie take up all the air in the room.
The 5 worst
5. “So You Think You Can Dance,” Seasons 3-5, 8-11: Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy
Despite an excellent host in Cat Deeley, Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” doesn’t have a great track record with judges. The biggest problem is the omnipresent Nigel Lythgoe (a former “Idol” producer), who tried to affect Cowell’s snobbishness while making sexist comments about the female dancers, ad nauseam. He was at his worst when paired with Murphy, whose habit of screaming quickly became grating and tiresome.
4. “American Idol,” Season 9: Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi
After Abdul left “Idol,” Fox never found anyone to mesh with Cowell and Jackson, but the biggest failure was Season 9, in which DeGeneres’s niceness clashed with Cowell’s vitriol. You want to cringe at the singers on “Idol,” not the judges.
3. “The Four: Battle for Stardom” Season 1: Sean Combs, DJ Khaled, Meghan Trainor and Charlie Walk
Even before music producer Charlie Walk had to leave Fox’s singing competition due to sexual misconduct allegations, the panel on “The Four” (and the show itself) was a disaster. Combs and Khaled competed to be the wildest, weirdest and loudest person in the room, while Trainor made boring observations and Walk bragged about the famous artists he worked with. The fact that the judges encouraged contestants to verbally spar contributed to the odious flavor of the show.
2. “The X Factor” (U.S.) Season 1: Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, L.A. Reid and Nicole Scherzinger
“X Factor” never became the sensation in the U.S. that it was in the U.K., and the ill-advised first-season judging panel did not help. Reuniting Abdul and Cowell seemed like a brilliant idea, but was a forced recreation of the glory days of “Idol.” Scherzinger joined after Cheryl Cole was dismissed after two episodes. There was no chemistry, but at least things improved when Demi Lovato and Britney Spears joined in Season 2.
1. “The Masked Singer,” Season 1: Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong and Nicole Scherzinger
It’s a testament to the brilliance of the concept behind Fox’s “Masked Singer” that the series has seen so much success in spite of its terrible judging panel. The oddly assembled foursome is off balance, as each member tries (ands fails) to be the Cowell-esque leader of the pack. Thicke is too serious for a show with creepy rabbit costumes; McCarthy is described as a “pop-culture guru” despite her lack of credentials; Scherzinger is typically bland and ineffective; and Jeong alternates between creepy comments and self-aggrandizing spectacle.
Maybe in Season 2 they can put them all behind masks.