The world of The Masked Singer is expanding.
FOX is partnering with Emmy Award-winning talk show host Ellen DeGeneres to produce The Masked Dancer, a new celebrity competition show based on the smash hit FOX series The Masked Singer and inspired by a popular segment featured on The Ellen Show.
“In this all-new format, celebrity contestants will perform unique dances, while covered from head-to-toe in elaborate costumes and face masks, leaving audiences to guess their identities,” according to the official logline.
A nod to The Masked Singer, the guessing game was introduced on “The Ellen Show,” with celebrities such as Howie Mandel, Sean Hayes, Derek Hough, and The Masked Singer’s own panelist, Ken Jeong.
“We’re still blown away by THE MASKED SINGER’s massive impact on pop culture, but when Ellen debuted her own inventive segment, “The Masked Dancer,” on her show, we were truly amazed,” said Rob Wade, President, Alternative Entertainment & Specials, FOX Entertainment.
“We are thrilled to partner with Ellen on this new format and take THE MASKED DANCER to a whole new creative level.”
“This is gonna be just as fun and suspenseful as THE MASKED SINGER, but with a lot more Krumping,” DeGeneres said.
“And I cannot wait!”
The series is produced by FOX Alternative Entertainment, The Masked Dancer is executive-produced by Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Bros. Unscripted & Alternative Television.
The Masked Singer burst on to the scene in January, 2019, and was an immediate success. The first season averaged 8.2 million viewers and a 2.6 rating.
In its second season, the ratings were down to 7 million viewers and a 2.0 rating, but it remains FOX’s number one series.
FOX knows the series is a viable brand and that’s why it has increased it to two cycles a year, and the forthcoming third season will get a boost out of the Super Bowl.
The format is also being made internationally, with the most recent iteration launching in the U.K. with high ratings.
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.