Earlier this month,
Clash of the Corps debuted on Fuse. Produced by The Rock's Seven Bucks Productions, Clash of the Corps follows the 2016 drum corps season through the eyes of two corps: The Blue Devils and The Cadets. The Rock previewed the first episode the day before it aired on his Facebook page, and since then, three episodes have aired, treating us thus far to both corps' training camps, Blue Devils' first performance and Cadets' preview show. We've gotten to know quite a few of the members, both corps directors, and several other members of the staff.
The show leaps right into the action without a bunch of exposition or explanation as to what exactly drum corps is. It's a little surprising, since I think corps fans often feel the need to explain first, but they're either counting on the likely audience already being familiar (I'm sure most of us are) or the story carrying well enough without the audience knowing a mellophone from a baritone (and so far, it does). It focuses on the two most decorated corps in the activity, though knowing how last season went, I'm certain the Bluecoats are watching like:
Despite the false dichotomy, I've really enjoyed the show so far. I'm interested to see if we see much of the other corps as the season wears on. They seem to be playing the show to sports crowds as well, giving us easy-to-recognize venues like the Rose Bowl and Lucas Oil Stadium, where Blue Devils and Cadets began their respective seasons. One thing I hope to see and hear more of as the show continues are the actual corps. There has been a lot of scoring thus far, even as the corps are playing; I don't know if that's a stylistic choice, or done in part to avoid copyright issues.
If you're not already watching, Clash of the Corps airs at 11pm ET on Fuse, and can be found afterwards on Hulu and the Fuse app and website.
