Spike TV knows a hit when it has one. Just a few weeks after the cable network’s new series Lip Sync Battle hit the schedule, the cabler has announced that the series will be returning for a second season on Spike. However, the network is currently reporting that after Lip Sync Battle finishes its Season 1 run, it won’t return until 2016.
Season 2 of Lip Sync Battle should look pretty similar to the current incarnation. In a release, the network gave a shout-out to both LL Cool J and Chrissy Teigen, who headline the series, so it seems safe to say the two will be returning next season. In addition, we know 20 episodes will be produced for Season 2.
The good news is there is plenty more of Lip Sync Battle on the way. When the Spike variety show was initially picked up to series, the network had ordered 10 episodes of the program, filming with the likes of Jimmy Fallon, Dwayne Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Jennifer Lopez, John Legend, John Krasinski, Meghan Trainor, Common and others. Then, in March, an additional eight episodes were filmed with Emily Blunt, Anne Hathaway, Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson, Justin Bieber, Queen Latifah, Will Arnett, Alison Brie, Mike Tyson, and Terry Crews. Obviously, since we’ve already seen the episode featuring Anne Hathaway’s epic “Wrecking Ball” performance, Spike has just decided to air these eps in whatever order the network feels like. The show has only aired for four weeks so far.
Lip Sync Battle has highly overachieved for Spike. The series premiered to over 3 million total viewers—huge numbers for the cable network. However, the big pro to the series has been its staying power. Subsequent airings of the series on Spike, MTV and BET have proved lucrative, and Lip Sync Battle also has viral staying power online. The aforementioned Anne Hathaway preview video has done more than 14 million page views already, although we prefer the full version, below.
Thanks to the ratings success of Lip Sync Battle, Season 1 is expected to run until the fall, after which the show will go on hiatus until it returns in 2016. So far, the series has been a big hit for the cable network, but the real testament will be in determining whether the series has staying power with viewers or is just a fun gimmick capturing our attention for another few months.
If you want to see what all of the hullabaloo is about, you can tune in to watch Spike’s Lip Sync Battle on Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET. This week Mike Tyson will give it a whirl.
