John Krasinski and Stephen Merchant to Take Part in Lip-Sync Battle Show

John Krasinski and Stephen Merchant are teaming up with Jimmy Fallon to launch a new TV lip-syncing battle series.

TV host Fallon has had both actors on his previous Late Night With Jimmy Fallon program to take part in the comedy segment, which featured celebrities miming their favorite songs.

Merchant took part in one of the most popular installments with Joseph Gordon-Levitt last year, racking up over 33 million views on YouTube.com, and now he has joined forces with Fallon and The Office star Krasinski to turn the idea into an original show for Spike TV.

The trio will serve as executive producers of Lip Sync Battle, and will also compete against other stars, going head-to-head for bragging rights.

The 30-minute shows will tape in New York in January ahead of an April premiere.

Fallon announced the news during an interview with Merchant on his late-night program, The Tonight Show, on Thursday, when Ricky Gervais’ comedy partner admitted his ‘renditions’ of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince’s Boom Shake the Room and Beyonce’s Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) had won him more recognition than any of his TV or movie work.

The Office co-creator and Hot Fuzz actor said, “(I’m known for) a myriad of things. Well, you’d think that were the case, but really, the only thing that anyone recognizes me for, is the lip-syncing nonsense. That’s all I get recognized for!

“I wander the streets, with all those credits just floating around, and they go, ‘Lip-sync guy! Lip-sync guy, yeah! Do the funny dance!’ It’s great and I’m pleased that it went well and everyone saw it, and there was like, millions of views, and that’s all great, but you don’t wanna just be remembered for some stupid thing you did.

“It’s like O.J. Simpson or something. Every day he must wake up and think, ‘Jeez, you’re involved in one double homicide… trial, just one trial and suddenly no one remembers I was in the Naked Gun!’ I’m not saying the lip-syncing was quite as bad as that, but it’s up there!”

Photo Credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

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  1. John Krasinski and Stephen Merchant are the people that actually created the game and allowed Jimmy Fallon to make a segment of it because he loved it so much. Your article makes it sound like it’s Jimmy Fallon’s property.