Cosplay Melee

Cosplay Melee
Genre
Judges
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Jay Peterson
  • Todd Lubin
Running time42 minutes
Production companyMatador Content
Original release
NetworkSyfy
ReleaseMarch 21 (2017-03-21) –
April 25, 2017 (2017-04-25)

Cosplay Melee is a Syfy channel reality television show executive produced by Jay Peterson and Todd Lubin, which was announced in February 2017 and premiered its first season of six episodes on March 21, 2017. The series is hosted by Yvette Nicole Brown, and follows cosplayers as they put their skills to the test. Cosplay Melee is Syfy's second cosplay-competition series, after the two-season series Heroes of Cosplay in 2013.

Premise

The series is hosted by Yvette Nicole Brown, and follows four cosplayers each week as they put their skills to the test as they create innovative cosplays, having to not only create the costume, but also act the part of the character for a realistic performance. Guiding and critiquing the contestants are international cosplayer LeeAnna Vamp, and Christian Beckman, the costume creator for The Hunger Games and Tron: Legacy. At the end of every episode each week, the winner of that particular competition is awarded with $10,000.[1]

Contestants

In each episode, there are two rounds. The first requires the contestants to make a small test piece, and one is eliminated and one receives a bonus for the second round, where they create their full characters, and a contestant is selected as the winner of the episode.

# Name Occupation Cosplay source Result
1[2] Alicia Bellamy Costume Designer Chronicles of Riddick Eliminated
Xavier Conley Chef and Prop Builder Star Wars Won both rounds
Grace Herbert Police Officer Guardians of the Galaxy
Fred Reed Miniatures Painter Star Trek
2[3] Edgar Mayoral Blacksmith N/A Eliminated
Jennifer Rose Professional cosplayer Baratheon
Emily Schmidt Assisted living activities director Wildling Won both rounds
Ruth Stetson Professional cosplayer White Walker
3[4] Garrick Backer Professional cosplayer Demon
Marty LeGrow Children's entertainer Angel
Lisa Rosenberg Professional cosplayer Demon Won both rounds
Jesseca Thaxton Fashion designer Angel Eliminated
4[5] Joshua Brown Professional cosplayer Fallout Won first round
Caitlyn Culpepper Small boutique Overwatch Eliminated
Becka Noel Costume designer Star Trek Online
Steven Smith Prop maker Destiny Won second round
5[6] Aaron Bowholtz Tattoo artist Ancient Egypt
Tuwanda Chandler Seamstress Peace, love, positivity Eliminated
James Fipps Graphic designer Vigilante guardian Won first round
Dhareza Maramis Creative director Military, cats Won second round
6[7] Paul Esquer Prop maker .hack Won first round
Jacqueline Goehner Professional cosplayer Record of Lodoss War Won second round
Meesha LeDoux Veterinarian assistant Monster Girl series Eliminated
Jessie Pridemore Professional seamstress Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica

Episodes

No.TitleCosplay ThemeOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
1"A Night at the Space Opera"Space operaMarch 21, 2017 (2017-03-21)0.521[8]

  • Themes: Alicia: Chronicles of Riddick. Xavier: Star Wars. Grace: Guardians of the Galaxy. Fred: Star Trek.
  • Round 1: Alicia: headpiece. Xavier: X-Wing pilot helmet. Grace: helmet, goggles and respirator: Fred: helmet, respirator and visor. Eliminated: Alicia. Winner: Xavier.
  • Round 2: Xavier: Crime Lord. Grace: Bounty Hunter. Fred: Militant Dictator. Winner: Xavier.
2"Throne Off"Game of ThronesMarch 28, 2017 (2017-03-28)0.532[9]

  • Themes: Edgar: Wildling. Jennifer: Elvish. Emily: Stark. Ruth: Targaryen rival.
  • Round 1: Edgar: Sword. Jennifer: Crossbow. Emily: Flail. Ruth: Shield. Eliminated: Edgar. Winner: Emily.
  • Round 2: Jennifer: Baratheon. Emily: Wildling. Ruth: White Walker. Winner: Emily.
3"Angels and Demons"Angelic and devilish charactersApril 4, 2017 (2017-04-04)0.449[10]

  • Themes: Garrick: Demon. Marty: Angel. Lisa: Demon. Jesseca: Angel.
  • Round 1: Garrick: Metal wings. Marty: Wings made of the Bible. Lisa: Angel of pestilence wings. Jesseca: stone wings. Eliminated: Jesseca. Winner: Lisa.
  • Round 2: Garrick: Former angel banished from heaven. Marty: Fallen angel recruited by Lucifer. Lisa: Servant of pestilence, horseman of the apocalypse. Winner: Lisa.
4"War Games"High-tech futuristic video gamesApril 11, 2017 (2017-04-11)0.398[11]

  • Themes: Joshua: Fallout. Caitlyn: Overwatch. Becka: Star Trek Online. Steven: Destiny.
  • Round 1: Joshua: Multi-weapon arm. Caitlyn: Flamethrower. Becka: "The Genesis", funnels knowledge. Steven: Plasma cannon. Eliminated: Caitlyn. Winner: Joshua.
  • Round 2: Joshua: Synth reprogrammed by U.S. army. Becka: Creator and destroyer of life. Steven: Warlock necromancer. Winner: Steven.
5"Superheroes"Superheroes without superpowersApril 18, 2017 (2017-04-18)0.401[12]

  • Themes: Aaron: Ancient Egypt. Tuwanda: Peace, love, positivity. James: Guardian. Dhareza: Military, cats.
  • Round 1: Aaron: Gear emblem. Tuwanda: Peace, lightning, heart emblem. James: Shield emblem. Dhareza: Armored cat emblem. Eliminated: Tuwanda. Winner: James.
  • Round 2: Aaron: Egyptologist turned defender of humanity. James: Ex-con turned crime fighter. Dhareza: Vigilante avenging death of cat. Winner: Dhareza.
6"Animelee"AnimeApril 25, 2017 (2017-04-25)0.420[13]

  • Themes: Paul: .hack. Jacqueline: Record of Lodoss War. Meesha: Monster Girl series. Jessie: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica.
  • Round 1: Paul: Beetle gauntlet. Jacqueline: Fire flower. Meesha: Dragon skull staff. Jessie: Winged heart wand. Eliminated: Meesha. Winner: Paul.
  • Round 2: Paul: Delinquent thief, con artist. Jacqueline: Moe fairy, protector of the forest. Jessie: Heroic schoolgirl with magical powers. Winner: Jacqueline.

Production

The series was announced in February 2017 by Heather Olander, the senior Vice President of Syfy.[1]

Christian Beckman, a judge on the series, has done costume work for Tron: Legacy, The Hunger Games, The Last Airbender, Star Trek, Where the Wild Things Are, War of the Worlds and I Am Legend, as well as having been part of the team that created the mechanical arms for Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2.[14]

Broadcast

Cosplay Melee premiered its first season of six episodes in the U.S. on March 21, 2017 at 10/9c on Syfy.[1][15] The series premiered on June 13, 2017 in Canada on Space.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Cosplayers Put Their Skills to the Test in Syfy's Newest Competition Series, "Cosplay Melee"". The Futon Critic. February 16, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  2. ^ "Episode 1: Contestants Personal Portfolios". Syfy. Accessing archiving of the slides requires scrolling to "Next" and clicking through individual slides. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  3. ^ "Episode 2: Contestants Personal Portfolios". Syfy. Accessing archiving of the slides requires scrolling to "Next" and clicking through individual slides. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  4. ^ "Episode 3: Contestants Personal Portfolios". Syfy. Accessing archiving of the slides requires scrolling to "Next" and clicking through individual slides. Archived from the original on April 9, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  5. ^ "Episode 4: Contestants Personal Portfolios". Syfy. Accessing archiving of the slides requires scrolling to "Next" and clicking through individual slides. Archived from the original on April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  6. ^ "Episode 5: Contestants Personal Portfolios". Syfy. Accessing archiving of the slides requires scrolling to "Next" and clicking through individual slides. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  7. ^ "Episode 6: Contestants Personal Portfolios". Syfy. Accessing archiving of the slides requires scrolling to "Next" and clicking through individual slides. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  8. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 22, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.21.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 22, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  9. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 29, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.28.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 29, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  10. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 5, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.4.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  11. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 12, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.11.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  12. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 19, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.18.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  13. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 26, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.25.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  14. ^ Rosenfeld, Laura (March 22, 2017). "Who Is Christian Beckman? The 'Cosplay Melee' Judge Has Made His Mark On Hollywood". Bustle. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  15. ^ "Shows A-Z - cosplay melee on syfy". The Futon Critic. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  16. ^ "CTV Sci-Fi Channel".