| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 6 |
| List Episodes: |
|
| Runtime: | 42 minutes |
| Company: | Matador Content |
| Network: | Syfy |
Cosplay Melee is a Syfy channel reality television show executive produced by Jay Peterson and Todd Lubin, which was announced in February 2017 and premiered its first season of six episodes on March 21, 2017. The series is hosted by Yvette Nicole Brown, and follows cosplayers as they put their skills to the test. Cosplay Melee is Syfy's second cosplay-competition series, after the two-season series Heroes of Cosplay in 2013.
The series is hosted by Yvette Nicole Brown, and follows four cosplayers each week as they put their skills to the test as they create innovative cosplays, having to not only create the costume, but also act the part of the character for a realistic performance. Guiding and critiquing the contestants are international cosplayer LeeAnna Vamp, and Christian Beckman, the costume creator for The Hunger Games and . At the end of every episode each week, the winner of that particular competition is awarded with $10,000.[1]
In each episode, there are two rounds. The first requires the contestants to make a small test piece, and one is eliminated and one receives a bonus for the second round, where they create their full characters, and a contestant is selected as the winner of the episode.
| Name | Occupation | Cosplay source | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1[2] | Alicia Bellamy | Costume Designer | Chronicles of Riddick | |
| Xavier Conley | Chef and Prop Builder | Star Wars | ||
| Grace Herbert | Police Officer | Guardians of the Galaxy | ||
| Fred Reed | Miniatures Painter | Star Trek | ||
| 2[3] | Edgar Mayoral | Blacksmith | ||
| Jennifer Rose | Professional cosplayer | |||
| Emily Schmidt | Assisted living activities director | |||
| Ruth Stetson | Professional cosplayer | |||
| 3[4] | Garrick Backer | Professional cosplayer | Demon | |
| Marty LeGrow | Children's entertainer | Angel | ||
| Lisa Rosenberg | Professional cosplayer | Demon | ||
| Jesseca Thaxton | Fashion designer | Angel | ||
| 4[5] | Joshua Brown | Professional cosplayer | Fallout | |
| Caitlyn Culpepper | Small boutique | Overwatch | ||
| Becka Noel | Costume designer | Star Trek Online | ||
| Steven Smith | Prop maker | Destiny | ||
| 5[6] | Aaron Bowholtz | Tattoo artist | Ancient Egypt | |
| Tuwanda Chandler | Seamstress | Peace, love, positivity | ||
| James Fipps | Graphic designer | Vigilante guardian | ||
| Dhareza Maramis | Creative director | Military, cats | ||
| 6[7] | Paul Esquer | Prop maker | .hack | |
| Jacqueline Goehner | Professional cosplayer | Record of Lodoss War | ||
| Meesha LeDoux | Veterinarian assistant | Monster Girl series | ||
| Jessie Pridemore | Professional seamstress | Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica |
The series was announced in February 2017 by Heather Olander, the senior Vice President of Syfy.
Christian Beckman, a judge on the series, has done costume work for , The Hunger Games, The Last Airbender, Star Trek, Where the Wild Things Are, War of the Worlds and I Am Legend, as well as having been part of the team that created the mechanical arms for Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2.[8]
Cosplay Melee premiered its first season of six episodes in the U.S. on March 21, 2017 at 10/9c on Syfy.[9] The series premiered on June 13, 2017 in Canada on Space.[10]