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EXCLUSIVE: TBS is reentering the unscripted arena with a pilot order for Undercover Karaoke (working title), a half-hour hidden-camera project from Funny or Die based on the comedy site’s viral hit Undercover Karaoke with Jewel video. Undercover Karaoke will feature celebrities disguised as regular people going to everyday events where they perform as the superstars they really are. Undercover 
Karaoke with Jewel featured the singer disguised as a mousy-looking, mild-mannered businesswoman who had a Susan Boyle moment when she performed some of her signature songs to a dumbfounded audience at a local karaoke bar. The video’s creator Eric Appel and executive producer Mike Farah of Funny or Die will executive produce the TBS pilot with Gary Sanchez Prods.’ Chris Henchy. The pilot will be produced internally at Funny Or Die with input by the company’s creative director Andrew Steele and partners/co-founders Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. Undercover Karaoke with Jewel went viral when it premiered on Funny Or Die in August, generating 2.5 million views in its first 3 days and sparking interest in the reality marketplace. The tally has since risen to over 3.3 million views.
Funny Or Die, a leading Web site for comedy videos launched almost 4 years ago by Ferrell and McKay’s Gary Sanchez Prods., has been branching out beyond the Internet. It has spawned Funny Or Die Presents, a sketch comedy series for HBO that has been renewed for a second season, and a successful comedy touring franchise. With its comedic bent, Undercover Karaoke is clearly designed to to fit with TBS’ expansive sitcom slate. The cable network’s previous notable reality efforts include the Mike Fleiss-produced The Real Gilligan’s Island and the gender-bendering He’s a Lady. The concept of well known people using everyday-people disguise to go undercover is popular in reality TV, especially on CBS which has two franchises that employ it: hit reality series Undercover Boss and series of specials I Get That A Lot.
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I hate to be one of those people but this is a terrible idea. I mean, how long can this concept last? When people see a “regular” person belting out fantastic songs, they’re going to know it’s for this show. Good luck to them but after the first few episodes (if it gets that far), I bet it will plummet.
Agree with you 100%.
I would prefer if the series concept was putting disguises on Jewel for increasingly nonsensical reasons (“Ep. 107: Jewel, disguised as a 70-year-old Carmelite nun, goes boar hunting”)
Can i get paid to be an executive at TBS and order up an idea that doesn’t even sustain the 6:48 seconds it took to view it on “Funny or Die”? By the way there were not any laughs in it either. Not ONE!
True. That video was not funny instead I actually found it quite touching and I was singing along with the crowd. Jewel’s acting is decent and her “mousy Karen” bit was very believable. The behind the scenes prep for the set-up looked interesting too (like a make-over show). If all the episodes are like this one I would definitely watch this show as a feel good reality show in the vein of Under-cover Boss. The bosses learn something that they need to improve upon personally each show and it resonates. Just look at how many people called Karen ugly to her face in the video. Talk about back-handed complements.
Problem is I also agree with JM in SM that the show’s premise can’t sustain itself. I love kareoke bars but by season 2 I would be onto them. Either way I’ve pretty much had enough of the Punk’d or wanna-be celebrity styled(Jersey Shore, Housewives, Kardashians and now Paris’) TV reality shows so I’ll pretty much watch anything else.
Off to listen to some Jewel now.
A funnier idea would be to take one of today’s manufactured pop “artists” and see how they hold up in real world circumstances without producers, mixers and Auto Tune
They could title it “The Pop Star’s new Clothes”. That is brilliant but the record industry would never let that happen. Kanye without auto-tune or Beyonce without punching in on every other phrase would be painful to listen to.
I’m not sure how this will play out as a series but I enjoyed the clip—it put a smile on my face and didn’t need to be offensive to entertain. Disclaimer: I am a Jewel fan. I would definitely check it out on TBS.
^^^ I laughed at the one guy running away at the end.
Otherwise, yeah, I too don’t see how this is going to last as a series.
How many artists are actually gifted vocalists? Taylor Swift doing karaoke wouldn’t impress anybody. The Jewel vid worked because she can REALLY sing.
One of the best viral videos ever, not just because it was funny (yes, it was) but because it is truly touching.
I hope this show rocks, but not sure how they can top this 7 minute clip. I love it.
p.s. someone needs to tell the woman who said the remark about the ugly girl with talent getting laid that that is not how it works. Men aren’t wired like that. Cher and Barbra Streisand may be great singers but that doesn’t mean I want to bang them. Men are visual animals first; they need the physical attraction before anything else, like brains or talent or money or power. Sorry, it’s true.
@ True: Actually some men are wired like that. But the smart men know that boobs sag, faces droop, and cellulite attaches in random places without the help of plastic surgery.
Talent, brains, and a sense of humor last a lot longer than a nice rack. A successful or talented or smart woman is an aphrodisiac to a secure man.
Unless of course you are only with a woman until next year’s model comes out, like a superficial jerk.
“Talent, brains, and a sense of humor last a lot longer than a nice rack. A successful or talented or smart woman is an aphrodisiac to a secure man.”
Love it.
This is a really cool project – the perfect blend of sincerity, humor and awesomeness!
I agree that the idea won’t last unless they try not to limit themselves to just karaoke.
Put a wig on Kobe Bryant and have him play a game of pick-up basketball at the gym with some unsuspecting gym members.
Put a fake beard on Phil Mickelson and have him joining an unsuspecting four-some in golf.
Put some make-up on Meryl Streep and have her audition for a part in some small town community theatre play.
There’s potential if they think outside the box.
Did you guys noticed the words printed on the last guy interviewed ?
There was a pic of the Pope on it that says’ why is this guy telling us whom we can’t marry?’
Genius!
All the Debbie Downers who say this show’s concept isn’t viable need to chill. I run karaoke shows, and believe when I say that the crowds that attend karaoke nights won’t automatically know they’re being duped and that the person singing is really a disguised celebrity. Heck, some of the performers on a random karaoke night are REALLY great singers without being a celeb. I wouldn’t assume anything is up because celebs don’t regularly hang out at random karaoke shows.
I’m sure the show producers will have a twist in the concept each episode to insure that the show stays fresh.
Look at how long Punk’d lasted!
I don’t have a problem with the concept of this show, but it’s not “funny” in any sense of the word.
All the “Debbie Downers” who say that this show won’t work don’t know karaoke crowds. Most people who attend a typical night are not suspicious of a stranger who walks in and sings really well. They won’t know right away that the singer is actually a famous celebrity…or even after their told, for some people. I run a karaoke business, and I’d probably be fooled if it happened to me at random.