This has been a terrific season of Face Off so far, with a lot of amazing hits and very few misses. I was afraid that last season’s Veterans vs Rookies would be hard to match, but Season 6 has taken over without missing a beat. Tonight’s spotlight challenge looks particularly cool:
TV Spot: Face Off – 604 Preview
And if you are a Face Off fan like me, you may want to check out Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge, which premieres next month: TV Spot: Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge
Syfy debuts the new reality competition series, “Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge,” Tuesday, March 25 at 10 p.m. ET/PT following an all-new episode of Syfy’s acclaimed “Face Off.” The eight-episode series provides a fascinating window into the imaginative and wildly creative environment of world-class creature design, fabrication and mechanization.
Syfy introduces ten hopeful creature designers who have come to Los Angeles with an incredible shared dream: a contract working in Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™. The competing creature designers are allowed unprecedented access to the world-renowned Creature Shop, gaining hands-on experience to learn every aspect of what it takes to become a master creature designer. Following a series of elaborate challenges, only one will be awarded a prize worth up to $100,000 and the job opportunity of a lifetime.
Brian Henson, Chairman of the Jim Henson Company and the Creature Shop, serves as lead judge on the series and Gigi Edgley (“Farscape) is host of the series, charged with introducing each week’s challenge to the group of contestants.
Challenges on the series explore all aspects of the creature design field, from sculpting and animatronics to full-body creature creation. Some episodes are inspired by Henson film and television classics “The Dark Crystal” and “Farscape.” Evaluating the designs are the esteemed panel of judges, led by Brian Henson and including creature fabricator Beth Hathaway (“Terminator 2,” “Jurassic Park,” “Batman Returns”) and creature designer Kirk R. Thatcher (“Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,” “Dinosaurs,” “Muppets Wizard of Oz”). The judges will be evaluating the creatures for overall creativity and originality, technical execution and, most importantly, how convincingly the creature designers bring their creations to life. Each episode, the creatures will be featured in a screen test in which professional puppeteers showcase the creatures’ abilities to perform and transport an audience to another world.
Serving as mentors on the series will be world-renowned designer Peter Brooke, mechanization and animatronics master John Criswell and fabrication and artistic specialist Julie Zobel. The three are longtime Creature Shop artists who have dedicated their talents to the Henson legacy. Their tenures with The Jim Henson Company span decades and they bring a specialized knowledge having collaborated directly with Jim Henson himself. Working alongside the creature creators inside their workplace at the Creature Shop, they will be available for consultation and hands-on assistance.
“Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge” is a production of The Jim Henson Company. Brian Henson serves as executive producer with his sister, Lisa Henson, the company’s CEO. Also executive producing Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge are Joseph Freed (“Little People Big World,” “Rachael Ray”) and Rob Bagshaw (“Paradise Hotel,” “Top Chef Masters,” “Project Runway All Stars”).
Face Off, hosted by McKenzie Westmore, airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Syfy.
Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge premieres Tuesday, March 25 at 10/9c on Syfy.
