The Masked Dancer is an upcoming dance competition reality television series on Fox. The series is a spin-off of another hit reality TV series on Fox, The Masked Singer. Conception of the show started with a spoof segment of The Masked Singer on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The segment on Ellen’s show would feature her reading vague clues and a celebrity dancing, while disguised in a costume. As the segment gained popularity, the executives at Fox took notice, and the series came into existence.
The Masked Dancer – What we know so far
The spoof segment on The Ellen DeGeneres Show has been going on since the first season of The Masked Singer finished airing. Ellen even went on to claim jokingly that she would only stop the segment when the lawyers of Fox contact her. The judge of The Masked Singer, Ken Jeong himself has also appeared as a disguised celebrity dancing in the spoof segment.
Fox’s President of Alternative Entertainment and Specials Rob Wade finally contacted Ellen and announced a partnership with her to produce the new show, The Masked Dancer. The series was announced in January 2020 at the Television Critics Association press tour. It is expected to feature celebrities doing “unique dances, while covered from head-to-toe in elaborate costumes and face masks, leaving audiences to guess their identities.”
Talking about the format of the show, Rob Wade had this to say-
“Obviously the difference in the format is the fact that you don’t hear someone’s voice, yet you still have to guess, so we need to work out ways to help the viewer guess people in a slightly different way. It doesn’t have to be a solo dance. It could be a group dance or dances with another person who doesn’t have a mask on, so you can have partners as well, which would give you the ability to have a variety of different dances. I think it’s a question of how you can get the clues out.”
The Masked Dancer is executive produced by Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Bros. Unscripted and Alternative Television. The series was scheduled to premiere in mid-2020, but has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Casting for The Masked Dancer had already begun in February 2020. As of right now, The Masked Dancer is still in pre-production stage. We can expect it to premiere some time in mid-2021.