Cosplay Melee premieres tonight, March 21, 10pm on Syfy.
Syfy’s new reality-competition show Cosplay Melee is surprisingly entertaining. It’s essentially a costume contest in a Chopped-like style. If you fit into the nerdy niche that loves high-quality cosplay, you definitely should give this show a shot.
Each week features four new competitors, each bringing their own style to the table. They perform tasks à la Master Chef, and are judged cosplayer Leeanna Vamp, movie costume designer Christian Beckman, and actress Yvette Nicole Brown (Community). The winner receives $10,000.
The challenges begin when the contestants are told the specific genre of sci-fi that they must base their costumes on.
The four hopefuls then create a mask or headgear of their own fictional character with backstory. The judges choose one person to eliminate based on that, and the first place winner gets to select an item that he or she must integrate into their costume ahead of their opponents.
After the commercial break, the remaining three players need to complete a whole costume and integrate the item they received from the judges along with some other instructions.
Obviously Cosplay Melee isn’t for everyone. But even if you don’t enjoy cosplay, the artistic aspect of the competition is intriguing. Watching design concepts and ideas come to life is very satisfying. For any comic-convention goer who spends time admiring the costumes, Cosplay Melee is a must watch.
I give Cosplay Melee an A.
TV and City 