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''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