Fans of The Masked Singer who just can't enough of the popular show are going to be getting even more masked celebrities to try to identify with the upcoming spinoff, The Masked Dancer. The new show, announced today, will also be airing on Fox.
The Masked Singer has become a cultural phenomenon since its premiere season. After two successful seasons, Fox left very little gap between airing season 2 - which ended just weeks ago - and season 3, which will launch following the Super Bowl in early February. The popular show features celebrities singing with their identities completely concealed in elaborate costumes. They perform weekly, with new clues introduced that fans and the star-studded panel can use to help guess who is hiding under each mask. The singers are eliminated by studio audience votes until a final vocalist is awarded the Golden Mask. This time, however, they won't be singing in those costumes, but dancing.
Ellen Degeneres inspired the new celebrity competition show with a popular segment she did on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. This segment, which she called The Masked Dancer, played off the popular singing series. She had celebrities - including America's Got Talent judge Howie Mandel, professional dancer Derek Hough, Will and Grace actor Sean Hayes, and even The Masked Singer panelist, Ken Jeong - mimic the show in a dancing format. It appears Fox execs loved the segment as much as Ellen's fans, because they are now partnering with the Emmy award-winning talk show host to bring fans a full prime time version of The Masked Dancer.
In a press release from Fox, Degeneres, who will be producing the show, said, “This is gonna be just as fun and suspenseful as The Masked Singer, but with a lot more Krumping." It is unclear at this time how many changes will be made to The Masked Singer format beyond the dancing. Fans can definitely expect some changes to the costumes to allow more freedom to move. While some of the singers in the current version have added significant dancing to their numbers, other costumes didn't allow for extensive movement needed to perform a dance routine. Viewers can be assured the costumes will be just as elaborate as those seen on the singing version of the show. Just as The Masked Singer has revealed the singing talent of many celebs famous for a variety of reasons, viewers will likely be surprised at the ability of some of their favorite actors or sports figures to bust a move.
With the popularity of not only The Masked Singer, but also the hit dancing competition Dancing with the Stars, which also features celebs showing us their best dance moves, The Masked Dancer is sure to be an instant hit. Add in the infectious energy of executive producer DeGeneres and the only thing \ are wondering is how quickly they will be able to tune in and see the new show. With a premiere date yet to be announced, however, they will have to be patient a little longer. In the meantime clues are already piling up for the upcoming season 3 of The Masked Singer, which will be airing in just a few short weeks, giving the internet plenty of sleuthing to do while they wait.
Source: Fox