Before American Idol, The Voice, or America’s Got Talent, there was Star Search. From 1983 through 1995, the Ed McMahon-hosted competition show ruled television and helped launch the careers of countless performers like Britney Spears, Usher, Justin Timberlake, Dave Chappelle, Adam Sandler and many other notable artists. 30 years after its original iteration ended, it’s back, and on Netflix.
For five weeks, every Tuesday and Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET, viewers can join host Anthony Anderson live and use their remote to help judges decide the winning acts across multiple categories: Music, Dance, Comedy and Variety. Viewer scores are averaged with those from the panel of judges, and the highest scoring act in their respective category moves on to defend their spot the following week and continue their journey to $500,000.
The initial show opens strongly with competitors that will feature in the first two episodes, all lending their unique talents to a performance of The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights.” It demonstrates the scale of the production which Netflix has clearly put some money behind. They have a history of struggling with their live events though, most notably the Tyson-Paul boxing match. While this show isn’t scaled for that level of viewership, there were noticeable issues with audio, especially during musical performances the first week. It also suffers pacing issues with drawn out intro videos to try and force some competitive banter, and the cameras cut away from the performances to show the judges’ reactions too often – not a big deal for singers but for dancers or aerial acts it’s distracting.
In competition shows, the judges matter as much as the talent. If they can’t bring excitement and humor along with criticism and praise that isn’t too repetitive, their presence will quickly become monotonous and grating.
So, who makes up the panel of judges?
Chrissy Teigen is primarily known for her social media presence in addition to being a model, television personality, and author of cookbooks. Her marriage to singer John Legend has also kept her consistently surrounded by musical talent. Jelly Roll is a Grammy-winning singer and songwriter known for effectively blending country, hip-hop, rock and gospel. Over the last several years he’s worked with some of the biggest names in music while his career has taken off. Into every generation, there is a chosen one; she is Sarah Michelle Gellar.
The iconic star of Buffy the Vampire Slayer has countless other acting credits to her name including Scooby-Doo, Cruel Intentions, and I Know What You Did Last Summer, and to the benefit of her fans, is enjoying a career resurgence. Gellar tends to be the toughest judge to earn a 5-star score from, and she most consistently provides constructive notes for how acts can improve, while Jelly Roll seems happy to be there and hand out 5’s with a smile, and Teigen falls somewhere in between. Each of the judges comes with their own built-in following — something the show needs — to bring in initial viewers before word of mouth can carry it forward.
Two weeks in, that word of mouth is mixed. Netflix has found some talented people, but few that are blowing anyone away yet despite some of them already being fringe professional performers with an established online presence. Star Search of old was pulling people from complete obscurity, but in a digital age that looks a bit different. There are also some questionable pairings where you know who’s going to win just based on the appeal of their act. Generally speaking, magic trumps dance, and dance that involves leaping around on stage is going to beat one where they just move their arms. An act with a dog also would typically win (you’re still adorable Tempo!), and watching Tempo pull on her leash during the interview was still funnier than the comedic acts.
Aside from Gellar’s dress in the show’s debut, other standouts include 15-year-old magician Harry Merlin Piper who has tremendous showmanship to accompany his mix of close up magic and larger illusions, aerial team Duo Vespertilio who blend high-trapeze work with a vampire narrative, and then a few powerful singers like Yair Keydar (12), Bear Bailey (37) and Sophia Saylor (18) whose voices combined with their emotional song choices are likely to bring a few tears.
As far as talent competition shows go, this is one. If you enjoy this type of entertainment then it’s more of the same. The ability to vote live with your remote and see the results quickly decide the winner is a uniquely fun element, but you probably need another reason to watch. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s involvement is a good one.
