Season 3 of FOX’s LEGO Masters is better than ever, and we simply can’t get enough of it.
Hosted by LEGO Batman himself, Will Arnett, the reality competition series follows twelve teams of the most talented LEGO builders from across the nation as they battle it out in weekly challenges that test their imagination, design, and creativity. Now in its third season, LEGO Masters is reaching new heights with never-before-seen challenges, A-list celebrity guests, and game-changing twists that are sure to keep viewers on their feet.
Series judges and LEGO employees Amy Corbett and Jamie Berard chatted with us from the LEGO headquarters in Denmark to discuss the show’s third season, airing Wednesdays on FOX. Keep reading for the full interview, which includes an exclusive clip from this week’s episode!
Season 3 is already well on its way! What has been the most exciting part about filming this season?
Jamie: On this season, specifically, it’s our third season. It was first of all really nice to come back out of COVID times in many ways, that we could actually get to hang out with the builders and see Will [Arnett] again, but I think we also saw that people knew the format of the show. All the builders that came in already kind of came in with an energy and a plan of what they wanted to do. They’ve seen the previous stuff before which was really great. The fact that we could still surprise them with something new, I thought that was really exciting.
Amy: And I think that was really key, right? We’re three seasons in, and we don’t want to just copy the same format of what we’ve done for Seasons 1 and 2. We want to kind of have some twists, have a little bit of the unexpected as well. That was a lot of fun, coming up with some ideas of how we can keep people on their toes.
The series is continually upping the ante on what viewers can conceive as imaginable LEGO builds. Is there anything you’d say makes this season stand out from Seasons 1 and 2?
Jamie: Yeah, most definitely. It’s an anniversary year for the LEGO company. It’s our 90th, so we’ve sprinkled in some nice gems of nostalgia for LEGO fans at home, but then we’ve also just tried things that we’ve never tried before. I mean, we’ve done LEGO Masters around the world in many different versions. The fact that we can still do challenges that no one has seen before I think is super fresh. You’ll definitely see those throughout the season like the rodeo bowl, like the dog challenge. I think those really show a different side of our builders.
Chris Pratt made a guest appearance in Episode 2, which was themed around Jurassic World Dominion. What was it like having him be a part of the episode?
Amy: It was so much fun! I think we were really excited to meet him and excited for him to be a part of the show. He’s a big fan of LEGO and building with LEGO bricks, so I think that was really great to have him there. Seeing him and Will riff off each other… I think Will is so much fun and the best of times, but having Chris together with him, they were making each other laugh, they were making us laugh, they were ruining almost every take because they were just joking around too much, but it was certainly a lot of fun! It really got us in the mood of Jurassic World a little bit, especially with also having Blue [the Velociraptor]! It wasn’t just Chris; we also had Blue there as well which was absolutely terrifying [laughs]!
Yes, Blue the Velociraptor also made an appearance [laughs]! Were you able to interact with it in person? How was it?
Jamie: Yeah, it was terrifying [laughs]! You could almost feel the heat and the breathing on your shoulder. I have to say that when you see people that are afraid, that was genuine fear when somebody’s reacting. It feels that real!
Amy: I was hiding behind Jamie. They weren’t always doing the best to protect me [laughs]!
Ethan and Dom were introduced at the end of Episode 3, and they ALREADY earned a spot in the top two in last week’s episode. What kind of message would you say their performance gives the other contestants moving forward, especially those who may have been wary about their late entry?
Jamie: I think that’s one of those things when you say, “What’s new this season?” That’s very new. We had our first elimination in the first episode, and now we have a new team coming in later. It definitely reminds everybody in the room that they have no idea what’s happening, even though they thought they had prepared. I think that you just saw it on their faces. I think you’re going to enjoy this week’s episode where they have a little bit of fun with their reaction shots, and they really try to play it up a bit. Nobody’s safe in this season.
Amy: Of course, Ethan and Dom on social media, they have a big following around LEGO building. I think there were actually a lot of the builders that recognized them, knew who they were, and knew they were really, really good. I think, really, it just ups everybody’s effort in the competition, because they know having been good builders and having come second place in the last challenge, that they are ones to beat. I think the whole competition gets a little bit better as a result of them coming into the competition. They know that they have to be on their toes because any twists and turns can happen now. This is a wild season!
In this week’s episode, LEGO Masters is holding its very first “Brickminster Dog Show,” where contestants will be tasked with building life-sized replicas of their assigned dog. To make things even more difficult, they must be able to move down the runway on a leash [laughs]! What has it been like to watch the contestants manage to complete these hard tasks on top of creating such complex builds?
Jamie: This is a particularly tough one because of not only having to recreate the dog on the runway, but it’s that organic, lovable character. I mean, you can make a dog, and then you can make a lovable dog. I think that’s something where we really see the builders shine in many ways, because there’s so many different dogs in the room, so many different personalities. To actually see them take on that challenge and then perform, it was really inspiring.
Amy: And I think what’s really interesting is that there’s really two sides to this challenge. There’s one of capturing the form of the dog, and there’s the other of this technical ability of thinking about how you’re going to transport it from the start of the runway to the end. I think it’s very interesting to see how the different teams approach the challenge, how much focus, time, and energy they put on the technical side versus the aesthetic side, and how the risk versus reward pays off at the end of the challenge.
What kind of dog would you want to build?
Amy: Some of those dogs absolutely captured our hearts because they were the cutest little things ever!
Jamie: It seems like a no-brainer that you would want to go for a smaller dog just to be able to put more focus on the details rather than just getting it done, but I have to say that when you see how some of them solve the problems when you have a larger dog, I actually think it also might help them stand out in the room. They actually came up with some pretty clever ways of handling that.
Amy: I don’t think there’s any easy option, right? We tried to make it even for the teams. You might think going for the small dog is easy, it’s not. You might think going for the one that has less fur is easy, it’s not. You might think going for the one that’s less fluffy is easier, and again, it’s not. I think all of them come with their own challenges which is what makes it such an exciting challenge.
You both are employees at LEGO yourselves, both serving as Senior Design Managers, as well as Jamie being a Creative Lead. How would you say being on LEGO Masters and interacting with the contestants has inspired your own line of work?
Jamie: It inspires us. Actually, you wouldn’t believe how many fans there are here in the LEGO company watching the show [laughs]. They are all in awe when they see what the builders can do. They’re like, “Oh my God, that is so amazing!” We get to make the products, the toys that you can build and make at home, but when you can see people in just a matter of hours make these giant sculptures or these things that have never been seen before, I don’t see how it couldn’t be super inspiring for anyone. For us, it’s inspiring every day. It also helps us get better at giving feedback, because we’re doing that all day on the show. We come back here and we’re also giving feedback on models, so I think we’re actually learning quite a lot in this process and getting a bit better.
Amy: I think also seeing people’s passion for the bricks, right? We’re sitting in an office every day with people who are all building with LEGO all the time, and we think we’re in our own little world. It’s great to kind of go out into the real world and see there’s a lot of people who are making awesome creations at home, spending a lot of their time, and actually building whole communities around it. For them to be sharing their passion with the world, I think it is pretty exciting to be a part of.
Are there any specific themes you’d like to see the show tackle in the future?
Jamie: We definitely have favorite challenges that we’ve enjoyed. I don’t know about you, Amy, but we like the more free-thinking ones like the storytelling challenge that we had in the first season. I thought it was just so wild and different. I think those are always fun ones that can bring out the creative side of people, but I have to say… Having a rodeo bull in the studio? Who comes up with this stuff? It’s just crazy to think of what else we can possibly do to a model to shake it, flip it, twist it, rough it up. I have to say I like both sides. I like the wild, crazy, unexpected, strange ones, but then also the storytelling ones can be really fun.
Amy: I think we’re also at a point where you’re starting to get some favorite challenges over the season that you’re like, “Maybe we could bring this one back! This is quite exciting! How would new teams approach it? How can we put a twist on it?” The bridge one comes to mind all the time. That was such a great challenge. The fashion challenge with the hats, how can we reinvent some of these ones that have been so loved and bring a new spin on them, but also really capture the heart of why everyone just loved watching them and why Jamie and I got so excited to be a part of them as well.
Is there anything you can tease for future episodes in the season?
Jamie: Yeah, most definitely. We’ve already seen some teasers. We have, for the first time ever, LEGO race cars. Jeff Gordon, the biggest name in NASCAR, not only showing up… Jeff Gordon shows up, and he can’t help himself but hop in a car and drive around the studio. There’s even a little extra twist where he actually can take Will onto his turf and share a little bit of his love for NASCAR with Will. That’s definitely an exciting one to look out for. We also have all those nostalgia elements because it’s the anniversary of the LEGO Company. You’re gonna find some nice tie-ins coming up where we actually reference back to some LEGO history, and we’re doing it in a very dramatic way!
Amy: We’ve got pirate ships, we’ve got castles, and then of course we have a little bit of destruction as well. Will loves a good explosion, so there’s some explosions coming up! We have a giant wrecking ball in the studio coming down from the balcony… absolutely insane. You’ve not seen anything until you’ve seen a wrecking ball hit a LEGO build! It’s spectacular [laughs]! Again, something we never thought we’d be seeing, but it’s just such a fun challenge. It works so well, and it’s so entertaining to watch. A lot of fun challenges are actually coming up!
A brand new three-night event, Celebrity Lego Masters: Holiday Bricktacular, is set to premiere starting December 19, featuring special guest appearances by Leslie Jordan, Robin Thicke, Cheryl Hines, and Finesse Mitchell, who will be playing for charities of their choice. What can you tell us about this special, and how was it to see these celebrities compete alongside past contestants?
Amy: I mean, if you like LEGO Masters, you’re gonna love this. It combines great builds with a warm and fuzzy feeling that you get around the holidays. It’s just so much fun. It’s so silly. There’s such magical, fantastic builds. There’s some really, really fun challenges. Brand new! Also, some of our favorite builders that we’ve had in the show so far are coming back to join in which is very exciting! It was nice to see some familiar faces as well as the celebs.
Jamie: Yeah, we’ve really been hoping to do a Holiday Bricktacular since the first season. It’s just that opportunity to be a little bit more silly, a little more fun, just playing up the whole holiday spirit! It’s also a slightly different format. You’re gonna find that when they’re working for charity, and then you’ve got celebrities and you’ve got builders coming together, it’s actually a very different dynamic and really exciting. It’s mostly, like Amy said, the warm and fuzzies! At the end of it, you’re just gonna feel good [laughs]. It just feels good all around. It’s great!
New episodes of LEGO Masters air Wednesdays at 9/8c on FOX.
