The Masked Singer (American TV series)
The Masked Singer is an American reality singing competition television series that premiered on Fox on January2, 2019. It is the first non-Asian adaptation of the Masked Singer franchise and features celebrities singing covers of famous songs while wearing head-to-toe costumes and face masks that conceal their identities. Hosted by Nick Cannon, the program employs several panelists who are given various clues alluding to the celebrities' identities to guess who they could be after each performs. Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Nicole Scherzinger, and Robin Thicke appear in each episode and a guest panelist often appears alongside them. At the end of each episode, the panelists and studio audience vote for their favorite performance and the celebrity with the fewest votes is eliminated, taking off their mask and revealing their identity.
The winners of the first three seasons were T-Pain as "Monster", Wayne Brady as "Fox", and Kandi Burruss as "Night Angel", respectively. To prevent their identities from being revealed before each prerecorded episode is broadcast, the use of code names, disguises, and non-disclosure agreements is extensive, as is a team of security guards. While considered more positive than other reality TV shows, the series has received mixed reviews from critics. Its costumes, however, have attracted praise. Inspired by haute couture, they are designed by Marina Toybina and custom-built by a team that ensures celebrities can sing clearly while wearing them. In recognition of the show's costume design, Toybina has won a Costume Designers Guild Award and received two Creative Arts Emmy Award nominations.
As the highest-rated entertainment series in the adults 18–49 key demographic each TV season it has aired, the program's TV ratings have remained consistently high. Numerous spin-offs—including an aftershow, national tour, and upcoming dance version—have spawned as a result. Subsequent adaptations of the Masked Singer franchise worldwide have been credited to the show's success, as has an interest in developing other TV series centered on costumes. A fourth season is planned for broadcast starting in September 2020.
Panelists and host
Since the first season, the permanent panel has consisted of actor and comedian Ken Jeong, TV personality Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, recording artist Nicole Scherzinger, and singer-songwriter Robin Thicke, with Nick Cannon hosting. Guests often appear as a fifth panelist—occasionally for multiple episodes. In the first season, they were Joel McHale, J. B. Smoove, and Kenan Thompson. In the second season, they included Anthony Anderson, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, McHale, and T-Pain. Jamie Foxx, Jason Biggs, Leah Remini, Gabriel Iglesias, T-Pain, McHale, Will Arnett, Yvette Nicole Brown, Sharon Osbourne, Gordon Ramsay, Jeff Dye, and Jay Pharoah served as guest panelists in the third season.In June 2020, it was confirmed that Jeong, McCarthy Wahlberg, Scherzinger, and Thicke will return as panelists in the fourth season, as will Cannon as host. The following month, Fox affirmed that Cannon will remain the show's host in the fourth season after he made statements that "inadvertently promoted hate" on his podcast which led to his firing from ViacomCBS. The network accepted Cannon's apology and said they will continue to "help him advance this important conversation, broadly". He later pledged to donate his first paycheck from the upcoming season to the Simon Wiesenthal Center after visiting with its officials.
Production
Conception and development
The Masked Singer is based on the popular South Korean TV series King of Mask Singer. Executive producer Craig Plestis discovered the format in October2017 at Khao Soi, a small Thai restaurant in Studio City, Los Angeles. While waiting for dinner, he observed the other patrons staring at a TV playing an episode of the Thai version of the show. Intrigued, Plestis began researching the series online and contacted an executive of MBC America, a subsidiary of the producer and broadcaster of the South Korean program, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. With the help of his agent, Plestis secured the rights to produce an American adaptation from the company "days later". After creating a showreel during the weekend, he pitched the series to "a couple of... places", all of whom rejected the idea. Plestis then met with Fox executive Rob Wade who "responded right away" to the concept and considered its uniqueness among celebrity singing competition series a strength. After successfully pitching the program under the condition A-list celebrities participate, Plestis began developing it in November.In January2018, executive producer Izzie Pick Ibarra became involved with the show to aid in the casting process and Americanize the format. Rather than follow the tournament style of the South Korean version in which eight singers perform in at least one of four rounds, with the winner of the final round facing the champion of the previous episode in an attempt to become the new "Mask King", she opted to air one elimination per night, emphasize the clue packages and guessing component, and have the celebrities wear more extravagant costumes. Plestis agreed, wanting to create a story arc throughout the episodes and—unlike the South Korean show—reuse the costumes. On August2, 2018, Fox ordered the series and uploaded a trailer to YouTube the same day.
Endemol Shine North America produced the first season due to Plestis's relationship with the studio. For the second season—after the company withdrew from the role—production transitioned to a new in-house studio, Fox Alternative Entertainment, to "keep production costs down and generate larger revenue". Wade said this also gave the network further creative control over the show and allowed it to sell merchandise, launch a national tour, and create spin-off series The Masked Dancer. Since the second and third seasons, respectively, Rosie Seitchik and Cannon have also served as executive producers.
Format
The specific format of the competition varies by episode, but generally, most feature four to six celebrities each performing 90–120second choreographed covers of famous songs anonymously while in costume. Hints to each masked singer's identity—known as the "clue package"—are offered before and occasionally after each performance. They feature taped interviews with celebrities' electronically masked voices and cryptic allusions to what they are known for. To confuse panelists and viewers, red herrings are also included. The panelists are given time to speculate the identity of each singer after they perform and before their elimination. They are also allowed to ask questions or request that the host offer additional clues. After every performance concludes, the audience and panelists vote for their favorite using an electronic device, and the contestant with the fewest votes must take off their mask to reveal their identity. The show uses a weighted voting system; panelists' and audience members' votes are worth 50percent each and combined to form a final score. This process of elimination continues for a set number of episodes until three contestants remain in the finale, and one is declared the winner after they perform again. The "golden mask trophy" is awarded as a prize.All masked singers occasionally perform as a group during a non-voting performance, and each episode concludes with the eliminated celebrity singing an encore unmasked. Since the second season, the series has also featured a "smackdown" round in some episodes in which the two competitors with the fewest votes from their first performances sing one after another on the same stage. After a second vote occurs, the performer with the fewest votes is then eliminated. This round was created "to give viewers more time to get to know the contestants" and allow panelists additional time to talk among themselves as it reduces the number of participants per episode. In the third season, the contestants were divided into three subgroups who each performed on three consecutive episodes before returning to the unified performance format.
Casting
Since signing a deal with Fox in 2018, Cannon had been offered multiple opportunities to host or produce other TV shows, though none interested him. After being fascinated by the Masked Singer concept when presented with it and noticing its success in other countries, Cannon joined the show, believing it was "either going to be a huge failure or a huge hit". Ibarra was ecstatic when he agreed to host, citing him as her number one choice for the role because of his personality and experience. Regarding the panelists, she said the production team was less concerned with selecting those with an ability to critique participants' singing abilities than being able to create a comedic tone for the show as one of their goals was to reassure celebrities they would not be ridiculed for choosing to appear.Jeong was the first panelist to be signed on to the series due to his humour and pre-existing knowledge of the South Korean version, followed by McCarthy Wahlberg and Thicke, respectively, due to their enthusiasm regarding the concept, and Scherzinger for her positivity and experience as a singer. When producers pitched McCarthy Wahlberg and Thicke the show, they both "got it right away", according to Plestis. This was important to him as he "only wanted people who loved the program, not people who wanted to work on ". Thicke said they told him the show was "not here to hurt people's feelings"—something he was uninterested in doing. He also admitted he was at a low point in both his personal and professional life, stating "if I'd still been 1 on the radio, who knows if I would've taken ". Like Cannon, Scherzinger said she was attracted to the show because of its originality and success in Asia. She also stated producers did not test her pop culture knowledge before being selected. In March2019, Osbourne revealed on The Talk she was supposed to be signed on as a panelist. While those plans fell through after being contractually obligated to appear on The X Factor, she later appeared as a guest in the third season.
The show's producers reach out to celebrities via agents or vice versa. Wade said the producers' goal is to cast celebrities of varying ages, genders, and backgrounds to appeal to as broad an audience as possible. Lesser-known celebrities are favored the same as "super big names" because it is harder to guess them. To surprise viewers with an unknown talent when unmasked, those who are not professional singers are also desired, though some must send producers recordings of them singing as a quasi-audition. All are given questionnaires to complete before competing and asked if they have claustrophobia. Due to her strategy of sending potential participants sketches of the costumes that might be featured on the series, Ibarra said casting for the first season "was not nearly as hard as anticipated", though several celebrities were reluctant to compete. Following the success of the first season, an increased number were interested in participating in the second. By the third, Plestis said casting became "a lot easier".
Security
Before each of the participants is unmasked, the show's staff undertakes significant security precautions to prevent their identities from leaking. According to Plestis, the series has two bibles: one related to the format and a second, larger one for security measures. Everyone involved in the series signs a non-disclosure agreement which prevents them from revealing any information about the outcome of an episode until its broadcast. After the celebrities have been confirmed to appear on the show, they are allowed to inform a few others who also sign one. Only about 25 people know the contestants' real names during a season, though they never refer to them as such on set or in emails. Most are from Fox and the show's legal department; Cannon, director Alex Rudzinski, and the majority of the show's 150-person crew do not know who the celebrities are until they are unmasked. To prevent their identities from being released in the event of a leak or hack, all documents only list the participants' costume name. The contract does give their real name, however, the series's name—The Masked Singer—is unlisted.Before arriving on the show's set, celebrities and their family, friends, and agents are disguised and typically driven from a neutral location. If driven from their house, chauffeurs are instructed to "take long, circuitous routes... to throw off any would-be tails". The manager of Joey Fatone, the Rabbit in the first season, said he was picked up at a 7-Eleven near Television City, given a disguise, and then driven inside the gate. Likewise, Adrienne Bailon, the Flamingo in the second season, said she was taken to the set inside of an unmarked black car and only discussed her involvement on the show with producers in a "secret warehouse". The set has different access levels and each participant is escorted to and from their trailers located outside of it by security guards while disguised with a mask, visor, gloves, oversized sweatshirt, and pants to prevent their skin from showing. According to Scherzinger, security guards also escort the panelists from their personal parking spaces located outside of the studio's doors directly to their dressing rooms after arriving. To maintain the genuineness of his guesses, Jeong stated that he avoids walking through the same hall as a disguised celebrity.
The security team—which is roughly the same size as the production staff—is tasked with keeping the contestants as isolated from each other as possible. Margaret Cho, the Poodle in the first season, stated she never saw another masked participant due to the performers' rehearsals occurring at various times and locations. Only "towards the middle of the competition, once was blended into a group", Wayne Brady said he could hear other performers singing and recognize their voices while passing the sound stage. The Penguin in the second season, Sherri Shepherd, stated she only encountered other masked participants while they were sitting together backstage waiting to find out who was to be eliminated and could only communicate with them by waving her covered hand. Cho, Brady, Shepherd, and all other celebrities are trained to use different body language and mannerisms than their own while performing and are forbidden from talking to anyone except those who wear a special cloth on the back of their clothing which is changed each season so it cannot be replicated. While the production crew is discouraged from using their phones for any reason during filming and the audience is prohibited from bringing their phones on set, many unsuccessfully try "to spy and get in with cameras". Following each taping, the panelists' note binders are put "in a vault" to keep them private.
Design
Costumes
The series's costumes are designed by Emmy Award-winner Marina Toybina. In addition to her ideas, she considers fans', celebrities', and producers' requests to formulate initial concepts. Each is designed to be different from those featured in previous seasons and dissimilar to those on other versions of the Masked Singer franchise. After researching "fur and skin textures, historical wardrobe, anything that might be relevant to each character", Toybina sketches each concept with a pencil and works with an illustrator, Jarett Fajardo, to create a digital version with a 3D effect. Producers then review each of the designs and note adjustments to be made. As a result, Toybina may sketch multiple versions before they collectively decide which will be featured during a season. Based on their background and what might suit them well, participants are presented with several to select from.After handpicking which fabrics to use, Toybina collaborates with manufacturers and a team of about 15 people to custom-make each costume. All are created concurrently during "a very sped-up, tight schedule", taking "about three to four weeks per mask, and about four weeks for costumes". Referencing three of the costumes in the third season, Toybina said she enjoys adding depth to them: "The Kitty isn't just a cat, she is a vintage burlesque-style diva with all of the hand beading, feathers, and even headdress that you would expect from that. The Frog isn't just a frog, he is in a '40s zoot suit, Harlem vibe with an oversized fedora and that swagger really comes out. The White Tiger is a pharaoh with gold detailing on each piece of his intricate armor, and custom-fabricated scarabs on his skirt, shoulder piece and headdress to give off a powerful, regal vibe."
Beginning as a wire, foam is gradually added around each mask to create an easy-to-wear helmet shape for the performers. Foam is used instead of wood or metal because their heavy weight would impede the movement of the wearer. A chinstrap often accompanies each mask to prevent it from moving. As production time is limited, there is no opportunity for the team to experiment with different materials, rather, "all garments are... cut right away on the original fabric". Since "the draping and the handwork... all done the old school way", she cited couturiers such as Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler, and Hussein Chalayan as inspirations. Though celebrities may ask that adjustments be made to customize them, the majority of costumes turn out identical to her sketches. Each cost about $175,000 in the first season.
A maximum of two fittings are conducted with each celebrity at either the costume shop or Toybina's studio in which the costumes are tested with a vocal coach present to be sure they can sing and hear clearly. A "limited number of people"—including Toybina and a tailor—are present during a fitting, which is done at a "very fast" pace due to time constraints. For participants who wear a mask detached from their costume's body, either a face stocking is worn or paint is used on the bottom half of their face to disguise their skin color. While deactivated during performances to prevent sound issues, celebrities with full-body costumes or LEDs on their masks have built-in fans to prevent them from overheating. Several hidden screens located inside of each mask also help the performers breathe and sing clearly. Each costume is sanitized between episodes and repaired if needed as there are no backups.
Set
designed the series's set based on the Thai version of the show. Wanting to create a more comedic look than other reality competition programs, Connelly said he was inspired by the stage designs of electronic dance music festivals. The front is X-shaped and features an LED interior enclosed with smoked, tinted glass, while the back is made of shiny black laminate and contains space for trap doors and special effects underneath. The performance floor is flat to prevent tripping hazards and is bordered upstage by two polygon faces with wide mouths that act as entrances and exits. A curved LED screen spans the space between the two faces and a large logo of the show is hung above it. The stage is surrounded by three fixed camera positions and almost 400 seats for audience members, with the panelists seated together behind them on a raised platform at a mask-shaped desk. There is also a Batcave-inspired backstage area with costumes displayed like mannequins in a museum.Pre-performance
Each celebrity attends one or two voice-over sessions to record audio for their respective clue packages. Due to the length and varying filming locations of the video component, however, stand-ins are used to give them additional performance practice time. For the first season, the clue package videos were filmed entirely on location. Green screens have also been used in subsequent seasons due to budgetary constraints. In describing the creation of the clue packages, Wade said "you have to plan stuff and at least drive people down avenues". They may reveal that a contestant is an athlete, but not the sport they compete in. Jesse McCartney, the third season's runner-up, said contestants are interviewed every week of the competition and have their answers fact-checked by producers.Ibarra said selecting which songs they sing is a collaborative process, with both the performers and producers submitting "ideas merge as go through the clearance process". In the first season, music publishers were reluctant to grant licenses as they were not told who would be performing their songs. This process became easier by the second. Those who are famous singers are asked to sing songs of a different genre than they are known for so viewers will be surprised when they are revealed. Blevins stated he "definitely got to pick the songs", but producers wanted them to be mainstream so the show's viewers would connect to them. Patti LaBelle, the Flower in the second season, said she selected some songs herself but was disappointed in those the producers chose for her, finding it difficult to disguise her natural voice while singing them. Barry Zito, the Rhino in the third season, said he sometimes fought with producers over his musical direction but appreciated being pushed out of his comfort zone.
Before the competition begins, several vocal coaches and choreographers work with the celebrities for multiple days to determine their strengths and help improve their technique. Tori Spelling, the Unicorn in the first season, said contestants are given three weeks to practice before their first performance, though only a couple rehearsals are conducted before then, and the amount of practice time becomes shorter as the season progresses. By the time he was eliminated in the penultimate competition episode, Zito said participants get one day of choreography practice followed by one day of blockings before filming commences. Contestants may also train on their own time to better compete. Kandi Burruss, the winner of the third season, stated she spent time jogging in place at her house while wearing "a ski mask and a hockey mask... at the same time" to improve her breathing. Before he began singing on the series, McCartney said he ran "5Ks or 10Ks every day" to enhance his stamina.
Filming
Each episode is filmed for several hours at Television City in Los Angeles, California, on the same sound stage as Dancing with the Stars and American Idol. Despite the show having a much shorter filming schedule than most TV series, with three episodes often filmed per week, filming dates are occasionally moved to accommodate celebrities' other activities. Choosing to tape the show rather than broadcast it live was a difficult decision, Ibarra said, but a necessary one because the time commitment would have prevented some celebrities from participating. Following the third season, Rudzinski said while it is unlikely an entire season would be aired live as "being able to edit helps us tell story", a live broadcast remains "on the cards".As filming begins, the studio audience is seated next to the stage and a warm-up comedian tells jokes to loosen them up. They are encouraged to act excited by clapping, cheering, and chanting the names of the costumes enthusiastically while the production crew records their reactions for later use. Shortly thereafter, the panelists arrive, and the host introduces the first contestant. The clue package plays on the large screen in the studio, and the panelists may choose to write down observations in their individual binders. The celebrity then enters and performs with at least one background singer dressed in black accompanying them offstage. Some participants may opt to wear a headset inside of their mask to sing instead of a microphone and use one only as a prop while performing.
After each celebrity sings, their performance is conducted again with background singers only, allowing producers time to film additional audience reactions. They are also given water bottles from their assigned costume assistants and the opportunity to cool down in one of the multiple air-conditioned rooms located backstage. According to Plestis, the contestants have one take to sing live and their voices remain unedited in post-production. Rob Gronkowski, the White Tiger in the third season, said this was true; after forgetting part of a song's lyrics during one of his performances, he never received an offer from the show's producers to re-record them afterwards. However, the masked singers' voices are intended to sound like the original artist; if they used Auto-Tune processing, then such effects are also applied to the contestants' vocals.
Thicke noted that guessing is a challenge for the panelists due to sound issues in the studio often obscuring celebrities' voices and that it takes multiple performances for them to catch on to who the celebrity might be. Plestis said the panelists' guesses are heavily edited due to their extensiveness and that they are discouraged from researching possible answers to the clues presented to them between the filming of episodes. After all performances and guesses conclude, the panelists and audience vote for their favorite performance. Before the celebrity with the least votes takes off their mask, the producers film the entire studio audience acting out how they would react to the moment, with less than two dozen "extremely well-vetted" people remaining in the audience during the reveal. The celebrity is allowed to have their hair and makeup fixed backstage before they are unmasked in front of the cameras.
Series overview
Broadcast history and release
The Masked Singer debuted on January2, 2019, as a mid-season replacement to Star. A month before the season finale on February27, 2019, Fox renewed the show for a second season. In May2019, during its upfronts for the 2019–20 United States TV season, the network announced it had renewed the series for a third season to premiere as the lead-out program of Super Bowl LIV. The second season premiered on September25, 2019, and was preceded by a special "Super Sneak Peek" episode which aired two Sundays prior. Before concluding on December18, 2019, the season was pre-empted for two weeks by the broadcast of the 2019 World Series. On February2, 2020, following Super BowlLIV, the third season premiered. After a special "Road to the Finals" episode aired the previous day, the third season culminated on May20, 2020. Two weeks prior, Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of Fox Corporation, confirmed the series was renewed for a fourth season expected to premiere at the start of the 2020–21 TV season. In July 2020, Fox led a group of organizations in recommending the United States Congress pass legislation providing "pandemic risk insurance" to minimize any financial impact in the event a second wave of COVID-19 prevents production from occurring in August.The series is aired by Fox in the United States and has been simulcasted by CTV in Canada since the second season. Fox Corporation distributes the series in those countries while Propagate Content does so elsewhere. In June 2020, British network ITV began airing the second season as The Masked Singer US, while Singaporean broadcaster Channel 5 began airing the third season. Blue Ant Entertainment, a Southeast Asian pay TV channel, began broadcasting the third season on July 6, 2020, and will air episodes from the fourth season the same day as their American broadcasts. Aside from double-length episodes, most run for about 43 minutes.
Episodes are available for streaming in the United States on Hulu, Fox's website, and the Fox Now app through video on demand. In April2020, all previously aired episodes were made available for free in the country through the ad-supported service Tubi, with later episodes to be made available at least one week after their original broadcast. Following the program's release to Tubi, it became the most-watched series on the platform. Episodes are available in the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Finland on ITV Hub, MeWatch, and C More, respectively.
Reception
Viewership and ratings
United States
With an average advertisement cost of $201,683 per 30seconds, the series was one of only two non-NFL programs to charge over $200,000 during the 2019–20 TV season. Though the second season's premiere and finales received lower ratings than the first's, Deadline Hollywood cited the show as a major reason why Fox—for the first time in the network's history—ranked number one in fall entertainment programming, and Adweek named it the "Hottest Reality/Competition Series" of 2019. The premiere of the third season following Super BowlLIV became the series's most-watched episode. During the latter half of the season which aired during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the series—like others—experienced double-digit ratings gains compared to the episodes broadcast before the outbreak. While the 18–49 rating was lower than the first, the show remained the top non-sports program in the demographic and Variety named it the network's "most successful entertainment property".
Canada
On September25, 2019, the premiere of the second season received 1.78million viewers according to audience measurement company Numeris. With a combined average of 1.79million, the season concluded with the "Road to the Finals" and finale episodes on December18, 2019. On February2, 2020, 2.35million watched the post-Super BowlLIV premiere of the third season—the most-watched Super Bowl lead-out program in the country since The Voice in 2012. The "Road to the Finals" and finale episodes aired on May19, 2020, and May20, 2020, received a combined average of 1.98million, making The Masked Singer the most-watched show of the week. The program concluded the 2019–20 Canadian TV season as the eighth most-watched series overall, the third most-watched among adults 18–49, and the fourth most-watched among adults 25–54.Critical response
The show has received a mixed reception from critics despite their recognition of its impact on television. The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 52percent approval rating for the first season, with an average rating of 4 out of 10, based on 25 reviews. The website's critical consensus states, "Defying all tropes of the reality competition genre, The Masked Singer manages to be both magnetically apocalyptic and inexplicably boring." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 36 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".Concept and appeal
The show has been noted for its positive nature. Hank Stuever of The Washington Post felt it was family-friendly and "television at its simplest and most genius". Writing for the same newspaper, Sonia Rao thought the series's ethos is its support of eccentricity. Matt Zoller Seitz of Vulture named it the best example of escapism on TV and Varietys Daniel D'Addario described the show as relaxing and refreshing, calling it a return to form for the medium as it possesses the now-rare ability to uplift and unite people. John Doyle of The Globe and Mail cited the series as an example of a cultural shift in the United States away from the competitive and often exploitative nature of shows like American Idol towards a higher level of positivity, and Rachel Desantis of the New York Daily News commended the program for nicely eliminating contestants, unlike Idol.The show has also been compared favorably to other reality TV programs. Entertainment Weeklys Joseph Longo considered it the most captivating competition series since The Voice premiered in 2011, and Stuart Heritage of The Guardian called it one of the best singing competition shows in a decade. Writing for NBC News' Think, Ani Bundel thought the series has an advantage over fellow programs Dancing with the Stars and The Voice due to its avoidance of the controversy surrounding the celebrities competing and judging on them. Kelly Lawler of USA Today agreed, praising the show for avoiding overproduced backstories, harsh criticisms, and separate results shows.
Reviews were more critical when referring to the status of celebrities competing. Rob Harvilla of The Ringer was displeased with the contestants due to them either being stars of decades past or only having a thin connection to an actual celebrity, and Los Angeles Times TV critic Lorraine Ali stated that the celebrities of low distinction who participate on the program lose all dignity while performing. To her disappointment, Varietys Caroline Framke thought the series was boring due to the contestants' caliber not living up to the hype it promotes them as when unmasked. Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast concurred, finding the episodes uninspiring and the unmaskings unsurprising owing to the obscurity of the celebrities revealed.
However, the concept was considered unorthodox and question-provoking. With both traditional Hollywood celebrities and reality show stars participating on the program, Malcolm Venable of TV Guide indicated that the hierarchies of fame are no longer as defined as they once were. Writing for Vulture, Kathryn VanArendonk thought it accidentally examines stardom effectively and believed it would work well as a self-contained celebrity studies college course. Rolling Stones Rob Sheffield felt the program was avant-garde and stimulated reflection, and Emily VanDerWerff of Vox thought the show embodies the future of network TV as it demonstrates that critical acclaim does not define success.
Performance and production
The program's performance value has garnered mixed reviews. Stating that its costumes and voice modulation are what make it great, LaToya Ferguson of Uproxx thought other series should use them as well if they want to achieve the same level of success. Vultures Megan Garber called the costumes impressive but thought they were comical due to the absurdness of a singing Monster bringing an audience to tears. As she rarely saw the celebrities walk on stage, Emily Yahr of The Washington Post felt they prevent the contestants from moving around freely. Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Kristen Baldwin thought the performance quality varies; some sound professional while others are more karaoke-like. Framke described them as mediocre while The New Yorkers Emily Nussbaum praised the elaborate choreography. Venable felt sad watching the contestants because they seem underpaid and overworked.Many felt the production value could be higher. Noting that some of the same audience members appear in multiple episodes, VanArendonk questioned if an entire season is filmed as fast as possible and whether celebrities only participate if guaranteed production lasts for a few days maximum. Lawler observed overproduction in every aspect of the show and Seitz criticized the way producers edit the panelists' guesses, stating they should cut out repetitive comments more often. Heritage agreed, describing the episodes as excessive in length because the panelists get too much airtime. Due to the slowness of the unmaskings, Megh Wright of Vulture derided the editing as awkward. Ali wrote that because the show is not aired live in all time zones, viewers on the West Coast discover which celebrity is unmasked far later than those on the East Coast do, and are unable to participate together in guessing on social media. Andy Dehnart of Vulture concurred, arguing the series could capitalize on its social media hype better.
Cast and commentary
The series's panelists have received negative reviews from critics, with many condemning them for spoiling the show with distracting statements. Lawler named the panel the worst in reality TV history, describing Jeong as over-the-top, McCarthy Wahlberg as inexperienced, Scherzinger as dull, and Thicke as too serious. Baldwin and Longo also criticized them. The former felt the panelists were unfit to be critiquing singers and paid little attention to the clues or performances and the latter thought that Cannon—despite his experience—was overshadowed by the presence and commentary of McCarthy Wahlberg. Doyle agreed, calling Cannon inarticulate and describing the panelists as cheesy and irrelevant. Conversely, Yahr thought Cannon was perfect as host due to his years of experience in the same role on America's Got Talent. Seitz lambasted the presence of McCarthy Wahlberg as a panelist but praised her chemistry with the rest of the panel.Bundel said the panelists were C-listers and only employed by the show to make its viewers think highly of their own guesses. Harvilla concurred, questioning whether their implausible A-list celebrity guesses were made deliberately to distract from the obvious. Venable said the panelists' guesses were absurd, Framke thought they were worthless, and Holmes felt they were far worse at guessing than the contestants were at singing. Ali thought the panelists' guesses were the most entertaining part of the show while Ferguson felt they were the worst. Desantis was amused by their guesses but thought all of the panelists except Jeong were annoying; Miles Surrey of The Ringer disagreed, stating that Jeong was irritating and made the panel hard to watch. In dissenting from most critics, D'Addario compared them favorably to the original American Idol judges as non-experts in their fields.
Cultural impact
The show has been noted for regularly trending on social media during episodes as users fervently debate which celebrity could be under each mask. It has also generated its own thread on Reddit where avid fans extensively analyze the clues presented during an episode in an attempt to decode them. They discuss results on multiple podcasts and have replicated many of the series's costumes to wear on Halloween, including Peacock, Thingamajig, and Ice Cream. In December2019, students at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising were tasked with designing their own Masked Singer costume concepts as part of an assignment. During the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, students and teachers at numerous middle schools in the United States and Canada participated in Masked Singer-inspired singing contests to maintain friendly relationships remotely.As some of the most popular series before it debuted, including Survivor, Dancing with the Stars, and The Voice, were many years old, Michael Schneider of Variety said The Masked Singer revitalized reality TV in the United States. The revivals of Paradise Hotel and Temptation Island by Fox and USA Network, respectively, have been credited to the show's success, as have the American adaptations of Love Island, I Can See Your Voice, and My Little Television. The show has also been credited with reinvigorating the costume genre of television; interest in adapting other costume-centered series such as Wild Things and Sexy Beasts has increased around the world since it premiered.
The series was the first in the Masked Singer franchise to air outside of Asia and its success has been attributed to subsequent local adaptations. It is part of the Korean Wave and follows fellow American versions of South Korean TV series Better Late Than Never and The Good Doctor. Wade has described a shift in the way shows are pitched since the series premiered, noting there is an increased openness to new ideas. He also said the heads of almost all TV networks thanked him for the series giving them a "carte blanche" to take new programming risks and that more direct relationships between Asian production companies and American networks have formed as a result of the show.
Awards and nominations
Spin-offs
''The Masked Singer: After the Mask''
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television, Fox pushed back the premieres of some scripted series to late 2020 and opted to create The Masked Singer: After the Mask as one of two shows—along with Celebrity Watch Party—that could be produced remotely to fill the programming gap. On April8, 2020, the network announced that Cannon would host the aftershow and that it would air on Wednesdays at 9:00p.m. for four weeks starting on April22. During an episode, he discusses the outcome of the preceding Masked Singer episode from a "virtual stage" with celebrity guests appearing via videotelephony. A final performance from the eliminated celebrity is featured at the end of each episode, which are directed by Tom Sullivan and executive produced by James Breen, Plestis, and Cannon. The series is also broadcast in Canada on CTV.The series premiere received a 1.4rating in the adults 18–49 demographic and about 5.5million viewers, a "pretty significant improvement" over the average ratings of the previous lead-out, Lego Masters. Subsequent episodes continued to retain about half of The Masked Singers viewers, which is considered above average for an aftershow. The program concluded the 2019–20 TV season with an average viewership of 5.29million, and an average 18–49 rating of 1.4. According to Variety, the series received higher ratings "than shows that probably cost ten times to produce".
''The Masked Dancer''
On January7, 2020, at the winter Television Critics Association press tour, Fox Alternative Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television announced that they had ordered a spin-off series, The Masked Dancer, with Ellen DeGeneres as executive producer. DeGeneres had previously conducted The Masked Dancer as a recurring segment on her syndicated talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, as a self-admitted parody of The Masked Singer. Following a phone call from his legal department regarding the segment, Wade felt it was "great promotion for ". He then called Ellen producers to seek their collaboration in transforming the segment into a series. Originally expected to debut in mid-2020, production was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, Plestis stated he hoped the show "can move ahead" by the end of the year.Other media
On February12, 2020, it was announced that the show would be getting a live national tour with shows in over forty cities. Originally scheduled for mid-2020, the tour was later postponed to the following year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning at the Palace Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, on June3, 2021, the shows will feature two celebrity hosts as well as a local mystery celebrity who is unmasked at the end of each.The series has an online store where hoodies, coffee mugs, and phone cases, among others using the show's branding, are available for purchase. On February24, 2020, toy manufacturer Jazwares announced they had partnered with Fox to release a Masked Singer-inspired karaoke microphone under their First Act brand. The microphone will include a voice-changing feature and be sold at retail later in the year. Images of the show's logo, costumes, and stage were made available in May 2020 to users on Microsoft Teams as custom backgrounds.
Marketing
Prior to the series premiere, Fox and the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising hosted a question-and-answer session with Toybina in which the Peacock costume was displayed. Students at the college were also invited to enter a contest to win a $5,000 scholarship from the network by submitting "an original, fully-rendered hand illustration of their personal costume design" that would be featured on the program's social media accounts.After being worn during a season, the costumes are placed in storage and occasionally taken out for display. In mid-2019, some of the costumes from the first season were featured in an exhibit, "Fashion and Fantasy: The Art of The Masked Singer", at the Los Angeles Paley Center for Media, accompanied by video and Toybina's original sketches. Selections from the first season were also present at the annual "Art of Television Costume Design" exhibit at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Museum in Los Angeles from late August to late October2019. On February1, 2020, prior to the premiere of the third season, two costumes were displayed at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County as part of a meet-and-greet promotion.
To promote the broadcast of the series for the first time in Singapore, Channel 5 conducted a "watch and win" contest during the first three episodes in which the first 10 viewers to take a photo of the show's logo when it randomly appeared on screen and use WhatsApp to text it received a $50 voucher.