''The Masked Dancer'' is an American
reality competition
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
television series that aired on
Fox from December 27, 2020 to February 17, 2021.
Craig Robinson hosted the show, with
Ken Jeong
Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong (, ; born July 13, 1969) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, writer and licensed physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the ...
,
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...
,
Brian Austin Green
Brian Austin Green (born Brian Green; July 15, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, television personality and podcaster, best known for his portrayal of David Silver on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–2000). Green was al ...
, and
Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress and singer. During her childhood, she was featured in over 100 advertisements and had minor roles in television and theatre. She achieved mainstream success as Maddie Fitzpatr ...
serving as panelists. Like ''
The Masked Singer'' format, celebrity contestants wear head-to-toe costumes and face masks that conceal their identities, but perform solo, with a partner, or with a crew in different dance styles. The show began as a recurring segment on
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...
'
daytime talk show which spoofed ''The Masked Singer''. In pre-production since January 2020, filming was delayed until October due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United States, it has resulted in confir ...
.
Format
Panelists and host
Actor and comedian
Craig Robinson hosted the show. ''
The Masked Singer'' panelist and comedian
Ken Jeong
Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong (, ; born July 13, 1969) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, writer and licensed physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the ...
, entertainer
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...
, actor
Brian Austin Green
Brian Austin Green (born Brian Green; July 15, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, television personality and podcaster, best known for his portrayal of David Silver on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–2000). Green was al ...
(who performed as "Giraffe" on ''The Masked Singer''s
fourth season), and actress and singer
Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress and singer. During her childhood, she was featured in over 100 advertisements and had minor roles in television and theatre. She achieved mainstream success as Maddie Fitzpatr ...
served as panelists. Guest panelists included
Cheryl Hines
Cheryl Ruth Hines (born September 21, 1965) is an American actress and director, best known for playing the role of Larry David's wife, Cheryl, on HBO's ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', for which she has been nominated for two Emmy Awards. She also s ...
in the third episode,
Rob Lowe
Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host. He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC's short-lived sitcom ''A New Kind of Family'' (1979–1980). Following numerous television roles in ...
in the fourth episode,
Whitney Cummings
Whitney Cummings (born September 4, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, director, producer, investor and podcaster.
A native of Washington, DC, Cummings pursued a comedy career in Los Angeles after graduating from the Univer ...
in the fifth episode,
Mayim Bialik in the sixth episode, and
Will Arnett
William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix series '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and as the titular char ...
in the seventh episode.
Production
Background and development
''The Masked Dancer'' is a spin-off of ''
The Masked Singer'' which debuted in January 2019 and became a surprise hit for
Fox,
averaging about 11.5 million viewers per episode in its
first season. The show continued as the highest-
rated non-sports program in the United States during its next two seasons.
The series involves celebrities who are disguised in full costumes and face masks which conceal their identities. After performing a song, a panel attempts to guess their identities using clues given. After all have performed in an episode, the panelists and the audience vote for the favorite, and the least popular must take off their mask to reveal their identity. It is a derivative of the ''
Masked Singer
''Masked Singer'' is an international music reality game show franchise. It originated from the South Korean program '' The King of Mask Singer'', developed by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation.
Format
The format features the celebrities who per ...
'' format which originated in South Korea.
Within a week of ''The Masked Singer''s premiere,
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...
introduced a spoof segment, "The Masked Dancer", on her
eponymous talk show. Segments featured disguised celebrities
Sean Hayes,
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael Mandel (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian-American comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel voiced the character Gizmo in the 1984 film '' Gremlins'' and the 1990 sequel '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch''. ...
,
Colton Underwood
Colton Scott Brown-Underwood (born January 26, 1992) is an American reality television personality and former professional football player. He played defensive end at Illinois State and was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted fre ...
, and
Derek Hough
Derek Bruce Hough (; born May 17, 1985) is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer, choreographer, actor and singer. From 2007 to 2016, Hough was a professional dancer on the ABC dance competition series ''Dancing with the Stars'', w ...
. ''Masked Singer'' panelists
Ken Jeong
Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong (, ; born July 13, 1969) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, writer and licensed physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the ...
and
Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the best-selling g ...
participated in later segments, as did the show's host,
Nick Cannon
Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American television host, actor, rapper, and comedian. In television, Cannon began as a teenager on ''All That'' before going on to host '' The Nick Cannon Show'', ''Wild 'n Out'', ''America's ...
. The day after the first segment aired, Rob Wade, head of alternative entertainment and specials at Fox, contacted ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' producers about a possible television series.
Wade said the network could have proceeded without DeGeneres' involvement, but felt she was "passionate about it ...
ndhas great access to celebrities".
''The Masked Dancer'' was announced in January 2020 as a "straight-to-series" addition at Fox's winter
Television Critics Association
The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canada, Canadian television television criticism, critics, journalists and columnists who cover television television programme, programming for newspapers, ...
press tour.
It is a co-production of
Fox Alternative Entertainment
Fox Entertainment is an American production company owned by Fox Corporation. The company was formed in 2019 after The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of 21st Century Fox. The programming is created for the Fox Broadcasting Company, MyNetwork ...
and
Warner Brothers Unscripted & Alternative Television.
Filming
Production filmed in Los Angeles at
Red Studios where ''The Masked Singer'' has also filmed.
As of January 2020, they had started casting the show.
Some of the show challenges for the production is how the dancing is to be presented, as a solo, like ''The Masked Singer'', in duets, which is more traditional for dancing competitions, and in group numbers, or a combination.
Additionally, they accepted that the contestants need to speak, but like ''The Masked Singer'', they would need to, in some way, disguise the voice. Like ''The Masked Singer'', the contestants utilize elaborate costumes, made easier to dance in, but with a "similar eccentricity"
including headpieces and they compete by performing dances that "could be a group dance or dances with another person". Unlike that show, ''The Masked Dancer'' requires more rehearsals as the celebrity contestants have to learn the choreography.
Originally expected to debut in the middle of 2020, production was delayed until October due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
Broadcast
Fox aired the series in the United States. Though it was scheduled between two seasons of ''The Masked Singer'', the network was unconcerned about audience burnout as episodes were shorter and less frequent than other reality competition series.
CTV
CTV may refer to:
Television
* Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet
North America and South America
* CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media
** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...
, which broadcasts ''The Masked Singer'' in Canada,
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simul ...
s the show in that country.
Contestants
The series features 10 contestants, who were announced on November 4, 12, and 25, 2020. The contestants in this series have sold more than 38 million albums worldwide, 20
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
s wins, 20
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
nominations, 10 World Dancing titles, five
''New York Times'' Best-Selling Author titles, four
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
gold medals, and three appearances in
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
shows.
Episodes
Week 1 (December 27)
Week 2 (January 6)
Week 3 (January 13)
Week 4 (January 20)
Week 5 (January 27)
Week 6 (February 3)
Week 7 (February 10)
Group performance: "
Shut Up & Dance" by
Walk the Moon
Walk the Moon (stylized as WALK THE MOON) is an American rock band based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lead singer Nicholas Petricca started the band in 2006, while a student at Kenyon College, deriving the band's name from the song "Walking on the M ...
Week 8 (February 17)
Group performance: "
(I've Had) the Time of My Life
"(I've Had) The Time of My Life" is a 1987 song composed by Franke Previte, John DeNicola, and Donald Markowitz. It was recorded by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, and used as the theme song for the 1987 film '' Dirty Dancing''. The song has ...
" by
Bill Medley
William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as one half of The Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Med ...
and
Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter. She has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet "Up Where We Belong" and in 1987 for ...
(performed by Craig Robinson)
Ratings
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masked Dancer, The
English-language television shows
Fox Broadcasting Company original programming
Television series by Fox Entertainment
Television series by A Very Good Production
Television series by Warner Horizon Television
Television productions postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
American television spin-offs
Reality television spin-offs
Dance competition television shows
2020s American reality television series
2020 American television series debuts
2021 American television series endings
Masked Dancer