Paramount Network wants more of Lip Sync Battle — albeit not quite as much as in previous seasons.
The cable channel has renewed the series for a fifth season to air in 2019. The new run will consist of 12 episodes, the shortest order for the show to date. Previous seasons have all had at least 16 episodes.
“Lip Sync Battle continues to grow rapidly across the globe and is now seen in more than 120 countries around the world due in large part to our incredible hosts LL Cool J and Chrissy Teigen, the dream team!” executive producers Casey Patterson and Jay Peterson said Wednesday in a statement. “We feel we reached new heights with the Emmy-nominated Michael Jackson live episode in January and are excited to show the fans all of the big surprises we have in store for season five.”
Lip Sync Battle launched on Paramount’s predecessor, Spike, in April 2015 and was an immediate hit, posting the best debut ratings for an unscripted series (2.2 million viewers) in the channel’s history. The show also was the first to air on the rebranded Paramount Network in January.
Numbers have predictably cooled over the three-plus years since then, but Lip Sync Battle still delivers decent-sized audiences; the most recent season averaged about 500,000 same-day viewers and a 0.2 rating in the 18-49 demo, with delayed viewing about doubling that audience.
The show has also become an international franchise, playing in 120 countries with original format versions in 20 of them. It also recently earned its third consecutive Emmy nomination for outstanding structured reality program.
In addition to Patterson and Peterson, John Krasinski, Stephen Merchant and LL Cool J are exec producers on Lip Sync Battle.
