Spike has a veritable hit on its hands (for Spike, at least) with Lip Sync Battle, the Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Merchant, and John Krasinski-produced reality show that features celebrities doing exactly what the title suggests. Though the show has only aired two episodes, it drew about 2.2 million same-day TV viewers, plus countless other web-based clicks from people curious as to what it would look like if The Rock mimed Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” With other big talent in upcoming episodes—Anne Hathaway, Anna Kendrick, Justin Bieber, and so on—it’s especially interesting to hear that Fallon’s home network, NBC, actually passed on the show. That’s the story The Hollywood Reporter is telling in a new piece, with “insiders” telling the publication that the idea felt “small,” or “like a segment within Hollywood Game Night rather than its own show.” Other NBC subsidiaries like USA and Bravo also passed, and the show landed on Spike because the network was, according to the article, “trying to turn a corner and rebrand a bit to get away from The Ultimate Fighter.”
The whole piece is interesting and includes contributions from a Spike executive, Casey Patterson, who gives insight into the show’s struggle with song clearances, the show’s marketing, and the life of Madonna, who declined to appear on the show.