'Face Off' Preview: EPs Tease Wight Wedding, Answer Fan Questions

As Face Off prepares for its ninth season on Syfy, we got a chance to talk to the executive producers, Dwight Smith and Derek Atherton, about the thrills and challenges of keeping one of the network’s biggest hits going for so long.

How do you keep a show fresh when you’re putting out episodes at such a blistering pace? It’ll be 111 episodes in less than five years, once this season airs. “We put this mantra out there to catch ourselves anytime we start to say something like, ‘That’s not the way we do it,’” says Atherton. “We wanted to freshen things up and really change our way of thinking in developing — not only the challenges, but the season.”

What does that mean? Smith teases something called The Gauntlet. “I will just leave you with the title,” he says. “It’s a completely different twist on a Face Off episode.” And then there’s the finale, which he calls “the best finale we’ve ever done.” Another highlight is the 100th episode, which will air Aug. 11. The contestants are asked to create “whimsical macabre” characters — in the vein of Beetlejuice — for couples who then will be married by host McKenzie Westmore. Westmore was recently ordained, so fantasy crosses over with the honest-to-goodness reality of actual weddings on the show. “It was very Face Off. It just felt fun and big,” says Atherton. “Seeing couples get married and having that moment of their lives on our show was a pretty amazing thing to be able to share with them, and I think the audience will feel that, too.”

We also got Smith and Atherton to answer some fan questions from Twitter. The success of MasterChef Junior prompted one viewer to ask:

“We’ve talked about that a lot. It’s always a possibility,” says Smith. But prosthetic makeup requires a “complicated skill set” which takes years of study and practice in specialized environments — unlike cooking, which can be learned in any kitchen. Also, the power tools and toxic chemicals make the set “a pretty dangerous place,” and Smith emphasizes, “Safety — for us — is always of utmost importance.”

Multiple people wanted to know what it takes to get on the show.

Likeability is, not surprisingly, important for getting on the show. “We want to have contestants people are going to connect with, and root for and get invested in,” says Smith, “But this is, ultimately, a show about creativity and talent.” So when it comes down to it, “Talent trumps personality.”

And they also got a chance to put some grudge talk to rest.

“The judges love Tate because he made it to the finale twice,” says Smith. “I don’t think it was a decision that was anti-Tate; I think it was towards somebody else that did the best work.” And there’s more to the story than what you see onscreen. Atherton jumps in with, “Hasn’t Ve even hired Tate to work with her? Obviously, she has a very high opinion of him.”

Smith is really looking forward to hearing from fans about this latest season.

“Going a little bit out on a limb here,” he says about the current crop of contestants, “they’re one of our favorite casts we’ve ever had, and I think the audience is really going to connect with them. They’re a really special group of artists.”

Season 9 of Face Off premieres Tuesday, July 28 at 9 p.m. on Syfy.