Lip Sync Battle has already spawned its first spinoff: a live stage show. Vulture has learned that a real-time version of Spike’s surprise spring hit will take place July 13 in Central Park, part of New York City’s SummerStage series. LL Cool J and Chrissy Teigen will both be on hand, assuming their TV roles as host and commentator, respectively; the celebrity contestants are still being finalized. And according to LSB exec producer Casey Patterson, whose company is putting together the free and open-to-the-public event, the format will closely mirror that of the Spike series — just a bit bigger. “It’ll be like two editions of our show, back-to-back,†Patterson told us. “There will be four performers and they’ll probably do two songs each. It’s similar to [the TV edition], but blown up a bit. We have a big stage we have to fill.â€
While the SummerStage is a one-off deal right now — “a big thank-you to our fans,†as Patterson puts it — it could very well foreshadow other iterations of LSB, including future live events. “We’re very interested in seeing [the format] live and seeing what it would look like in a festival model,†the producer says. “This is a great way for us to test the waters for that. I think it’s really going to soar in this environment.†And while there are no current plans to expand LSB to an hour on a regular basis, Patterson says there could be more hour-long special editions (similar to September’s season finale with the Empire cast) or possibly even some live-on-TV events. Sadly for fans who won’t be in New York next month, there are no plans to broadcast or stream the SummerStage LSB event. “We wanted to take full advantage of being able to do a show live without the pressures of TV,†Patterson says. Still, audiences in other parts of the country will get a taste of what the event will look like: ABC’s Good Morning America is working with Spike and the LSB producers for a special performance to air the morning of the Central Park performance.
Meanwhile, Patterson says preproduction on season two of LSB is already under way, with producers fielding (and making) calls for possible contestants. Episodes will begin taping in Los Angeles in late September or early October. And while the show is in reruns for the month of June, the remaining season-one episodes will begin rolling out on July 9. LSB also remains a powerful force on the web, where the show is now up to 177 million streams to date. Ratings-wise, the show is averaging 2.9 million TV viewers each week (including DVR replays) and regularly wins its time slot versus other cable shows among viewers under 50.