How ‘Masked Dancer’ twirls from Fox’s singing hit
The two-step became the who-step when “The Masked Dancer” premiered Sunday on Fox.
The dancing spinoff, inspired by “The Masked Singer” and a segment on Ellen Degeneres’ talk show, shifts the focus from voice work to footwork, as 10 celebrities disguised in elaborate costumes spin, strut and leap as four famous panelists try to guess their identities. (Degeneres is an executive producer.)
As with its hugely popular precursor, celebrities will be eliminated and unmasked each week – based on votes by the virtual audience and panelists – until the winner is revealed at the end of the nine-week competition. The show moves to its regular time slot, Wednesdays at 8 EST/PST, on Jan. 6.
The panelists – singer-dancer-choreographer Paula Abdul, actors Brian Austin Green and Ashley Tisdale and doctor and comic (relief ) Ken Jeong – say it’s tougher to identify people from their movement than their voice.
When former “American Idol” judge Abdul was offered the chance to join another Fox reality competition, “I was smiling from ear to ear. I’m such a big fan of ‘The Masked Singer.’ So, the only thing I kept saying is. ‘How in the hell are we going to be able to guess who is dancing?’ “she said. “At least with singing, you can be familiar with someone’s tone and phrasing, but with dancing – there’s going to be a lot of heavy weight on the clues.”
Word hints and other clues are part of “Singer,” but “Dancer” takes it a step further, says executive producer Craig Plestis, who oversees both competitions. “We added in a special clue for the first time. It’s called ‘Word Up,’ where you actually could hear their real voices,” he said – at least for one word. “That’s a big clue in terms of the identity of some people – and the panel picked up on that.”
Abdul almost picked up too much. “She watched this one clue package (and) immediately pinpointed, going, ‘OK, I know that voice. They are walking in a pigeon toe. I know who that is. It’s X.” And I go, ‘Oh, my gosh,’ Plestis said. “She figured it out in literally five seconds.”
“Dancer” is structurally similar to “Singer,” with fewer competitors and a shorter run. Contestants initially are split into two units that compete separately until just the “Super Six” are left. Group A, which made its debut Sunday, includes Exotic Bird, Tulip, Hammerhead, Disco Ball and Cricket, while Group B, which takes the stage Jan. 6, features Sloth, Ice Cube, Zebra, Cotton Candy and Miss Moth.
The costumes appear every bit as dazzling as the much-praised outfits on “Singer,” but they also have to be lighter to allow for a greater range of movement.
“On ‘ Singer,’ it was hard because there was such a limited range of motion that you could do within those costumes,” says Green, who performed as Giraffe in Season 4 of “Singer,” which ended this month.
“They’ve solved that a lot on this show. The costumes seem a lot more streamlined and a lot easier to move in,” he says, noting that limited field of view afforded by the masks make dancing a challenge.
Producers don’t rule out the participation of professional dancers, much as “Singer” has featured Gladys Knight in Season 1 and Leann Rimes, revealed as the Season 4 winner, among others.
“Singer” and “Dancer” also share Jeong, who appears determined to convert Fox into the Ken network, as he also headlines “I Can See Your Voice” and “Fox’s New Year’s Eve Toast & Roast 2021.” Expect “Dancer” to be a Jeong show of trademark Ken putdowns, both self-inflicted and eagerly volunteered by Robinson.
Riffing about the possibility of a “Masked Comedian” spinoff, Robinson says Jeong “should probably just wear a mask all the time,” and disses the everpresent panelist while discussing his level of fame required to participate.
“They don’t have to be that well known,” Robinson says. “You can go anywhere from the highest, like Tom Cruise to, like, Dr. Ken. Do you know what I’m saying?”
“True,” Jeong responds. “You go to the highest of the highs or the gutter with me.”