If you thought Legos were just a toy for kids, “Lego Masters” wants to clue you in. The new Fox reality series, which premieres Wednesday, Feb. 5, features teams of adults who build jaw-dropping Lego structures, and are competing for a $100,000 prize.
Like the rest of the world, Oregon has its share of grown-up Lego enthusiasts, including two men who are competing as “The Bearded Builders” on “Lego Masters,” which is hosted by actor and producer Will Arnett.
Troutdale’s Boone Langston, 35, works as a pre-K teacher. Oregon City’s Mark Cruickshank, 36, is an HVAC installer. Together, they’re “The Bearded Builders,” and part of their focus on “Lego Masters,” they say, was representing the Northwest.
(How to watch “Lego Masters": “Lego Masters” premieres at 9 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5 on Fox. No cable or antenna? Live stream “Lego Masters” on Hulu + Live TV or Sling TV; episodes will also be available the day after they air on Hulu.)
“The challenges were so intense,” says Langston. Competing on “Lego Masters,” he adds, “kind of pushed us, and I think we just leaned further into what we already understood about each other’s abilities. I think multiple times on the show, we really thought about Portland, and the things about the city that kind of inspire us. We can’t say exactly what those were until people get to see them on the air. But we’re hopeful that people who live in this area will be pleased with our project, and us representing where we’re from.”
Contestants on the show are given weekly challenges, which test the teams’ abilities to come up with amazing Lego creations in a fairly short time.
Cruickshank says his favorite challenge involved a bridge, because “in Portland, going across a bridge is a daily occurrence.” Living in the area, he adds, “you might go across four of five different bridges,” so when the teams were asked to build bridges that could hold a lot of weight, Cruickshank was ready.
Related: ‘Lego Masters’: How to watch the Fox competition show online without cable
Though neither of the “Bearded Builders” can reveal how they fared in the show, Cruickshank says, “When we did our best was when we reflected on the Pacific Northwest, and our hometown common area, focused on where we came from and reflected that. It was great to be able to represent the Portland area in a way that I hope people are proud to see.”
Oregon's own "Bearded Builders" team, Mark and Boone, compete in "Lego Masters." (Photo: Ray Mickshaw/Fox)
The two came to be on “Lego Masters,” which awards the winning team $100,000 in prize money, a trophy, and the honor of being named “Lego Masters,” when Langston was attending a Lego digital media panel at San Diego’s Comic-Con International this summer.
“Lego Masters” has already been a success in the U.K., and, as Langston recalls, “At the end of the panel, they announced that ‘Lego Masters’ was coming to the United States, and the application to apply to be on the show was going live at the end of that panel.”
Langston quickly called Cruickshank -- who he already knew after the two met as members of the local Lego enthusiast community – and asked, “Do you want to be my partner?”
“I said yes,” Cruickshank remembers. “Absolutely.”
The two have enjoyed building with Legos ever since they both kids, Langston says. And “We both kind of came back to it at around the same time, discovering this club of adults in town that meet up and do this stuff, and there are all these builders that show up at conventions.”
Cruickshank says, “I love working with my hands,” and adds that he finds building with Legos is a creative outlet.
“When work is done, I can go home and relax by building whatever I want,” he says. “It’s so amazing to build something awesome, take it back apart, and do whatever I want. There are no rules. You can just kind of build whatever you want.”
For Langston, the appeal of Legos also has to do with exercising his creativity. “I’ve explored a number of different creative outlets,” he says, and returning to Legos “helps me sort of get ideas out of my head and into the world in this tangible, shareable way.”
The teams who are competing on "Lego Masters," a new competition series from Fox. (Photo: Ray Mickshaw/Fox)
Both Cruickshank and Langston think “Lego Masters” will appeal to a wide range of viewers. “I think everyone will like it,” says Cruickshank, “because there are so many diverse teams on the show. Boone and I represent the average, mid-30s builder, and there are a lot of those people out there.”
The show may be a competition, Cruickshank says, “but it’s not a cut-throat drama,” instead it’s “more of a fun drama. Everyone is going to have their favorite teams that they root for. We had a great time, and I’m so honored to be honored to build with my best buddy Boone on national TV, and make amazing things and then come back home.”
Langston says he hopes viewers who watch will consider the question, “Where in your life do you need a little bit of creativity and fun? For us, that’s Lego. We found this incredibly relaxing and rewarding, community-connecting activity.”
“Lego Masters” premieres at 9 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5, on Fox.
-- Kristi Turnquist
kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist
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