| Face Off | |
|---|---|
Title card |
|
| Genre | Reality |
| Presented by | McKenzie Westmore |
| Judges | Ve Neill Glenn Hetrick Patrick Tatopoulos |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Michael Agbabian Dwight D. Smith[1] |
| Location(s) | Los Angeles, California |
| Production company(s) | Mission Control Media |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Syfy |
| Original airing | January 26, 2011 |
| External links | |
| Face Off official site | |
Face Off is an American reality television game show on the Syfy cable network in which a group of prosthetic makeup artists compete against each other create prostheses such as those found in science fiction and horror films. Actress McKenzie Westmore, a member of the Westmore family of makeup artists, serves as the show's host, with judges being Academy Award-winning makeup artist Ve Neill (Ed Wood, Beetlejuice), television makeup artist Glenn Hetrick (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Babylon 5), and creature designer and director Patrick Tatopoulos (I Am Legend, Resident Evil: Extinction, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans).[2] Industry figures and artists including Sean S. Cunningham, Filippo Ioco, Greg Nicotero and Michael Westmore serve as guest judges.[1]
Each week the artists will face a "Spotlight Challenge" and in some weeks a "Foundation Challenge" where the Foundation Challenge winner receives an advantage in the Spotlight Challenge. The Face Off winner will receive $100,000 and a year's supply of makeup,[3] a "grand prize that will launch a career".[4] Face Off premiered January 26, 2011 on Syfy.
Syfy announced March 16, 2011 that Face Off has been renewed for a second season. Casting was slated to begin later the same month.[5] The new season is slated to air January 11, 2012, and will include 14 contestants.[6]
Contents |
| Contestant[7] | Age | Hometown | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conor McCullagh | 40 | Mississauga, Ontario | WIN | LOW | WIN | IN | HIGH | HIGH | IN | WIN | |
| Gage Hubbard | 26 | Willard, Utah | LOW‡ | IN | HIGH | HIGH | IN | IN | HIGH | RUNNER-UP | |
| Tate Steinsiek | 31 | Henryetta, Oklahoma | HIGH | LOW‡ | IN | HIGH | HIGH‡ | WIN | IN | RUNNER-UP | |
| Samantha "Sam" Cobb | 32 | Decatur, Georgia | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | WIN | OUT | |
| Megan Areford | 24 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | IN | IN | LOW | LOW | WIN | LOW | OUT | ||
| Tom Devlin | 29 | East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania | HIGH | HIGH | LOW | WIN | LOW | OUT‡ | |||
| Anthony Pepe | 35 | Queens, New York | IN | WIN | LOW | LOW | HIGH | OUT | |||
| Kayla "Jo" Holland | 21 | Hilo, Hawaii | LOW | HIGH | HIGH | IN | OUT | ||||
| Marcel Banks | 24 | Tacoma, Washington | IN | IN | HIGH | OUT | |||||
| Frank Ippolito | 32 | Cleveland, Ohio | HIGH | IN | OUT | ||||||
| Sergio Guerra | 31 | San Antonio, Texas | LOW | OUT | |||||||
| Jessica Kramer | 26 | Scottdale, Pennsylvania | OUT | ||||||||
| Contestant[8] | Age | Hometown |
|---|---|---|
| Rayce Bird | 29 | Shelley, Idaho |
| Ian Cromer | 22 | Staten Island, New York |
| Heather Henry | 33 | Dallas, Texas |
| Nicholas Herrera | 31 | Orlando, Florida |
| Beki Ingram | 30 | Crestline, Ohio |
| Miranda Jory | 21 | Los Angeles, California |
| Brea Joseph | 32 | San Diego, California |
| Tara Lang | 27 | West Hollywood, California |
| Sue Lee | 26 | Jersey City, New Jersey |
| Greg Lightner | 35 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Gerald Macaluso | 43 | Northridge, California |
| Matt Valentine | 33 | Austin, Texas |
| Athene Zhe | 25 | New York City, New York |
Syfy began developing Face Off in March 2010 in association with production company Mission Control Media.[9] Syfy confirmed that it had ordered the series in May,[4] and announced the host and judges in November.[2] Producers held open casting calls in Los Angeles and Orlando and accepted audition videos through September 15.[10]
Drawing comparisons to similar fashion- and cooking-themed competition series, Wired.com reviewer Scott Thill found Face Off "more interesting than watching cooks or clothiers create cold fine dining or hot runway messes". In examining hitherto unexamined aspects of pop culture, Face Off helps a television genre Thill categorizes as nearing "creative exhaustion" stay relevant. Thill sharply criticized the series for "mining its subjects for tortured psychodrama", calling it "an uncomfortable viewing experience but also a pathetic commentary on how desensitized we are to pimping out our fellow humans for humiliation".[3] Mike Moody of TV Squad also noted the format similarities to series like Project Runway and HGTV Design Star, dubbing it "pretty routine". He praised the series for highlighting the creative talents of its contestants and the "sharp and articulate" judges.[11] Writing for FEARnet, Alyse Wax found host McKenzie Westmore "a little underwhelming....She comes across as a generic host: pretty girl with a nice smile, whose connection to the industry is tenuous." However, Wax was effusive in praising the contestants, who "creat [sic] a variety of really fascinating creatures, each with their own backstory, displaying an abundance of talent and skill among the competitors". Despite some initial stiltedness, Wax found that the series has good potential.[12] Sharply dissenting was Tom Conroy of Media Life magazine: "The programmers at Syfy should congratulate themselves for finding a competition show that aligns with their brand. That doesn’t mean they had to air it."[13]
Face Off drew an average audience of 1.4 million viewers per episode during season 1.[5]