EXCLUSIVE: The Masked Singer has produced an incredible 13 seasons since it first launched on Fox in January 2019 with over 170 episodes.
This included a number of seasons produced under strict Covid protocols with the music competition guessing game, which has aired one season at the start of the year and one in the fall, never missing a run throughout the pandemic.
However, Deadline understands that this is about to change with the show eschewing its traditional fall 2025 season and planning to return for Season 14 in January 2026.
The news comes as Season 13 is set to air its finale tonight; this season has featured the likes of Cedric the Entertainer, Oscar De La Hoya, Aubrey O’Day, Scheana Shay, Flavor Flav, James Van Der Beek, Candace Cameron Bure, Method Man, Erika Jayne, Matthew Lawrence and Edwin McCain with four celebrities yet to be unmasked – those performing as Boogie Woogie, Coral, Mad Scientist Monster and Pearl.
The move makes sense to keep the format, which is based on MBC’s Korean series King of Mask Singer, fresh as it moves into middle-age. It will likely be easier to eventize the show and score higher-profile celebrities to appear.
However, Deadline understands that this is not a permanent move and The Masked Singer is likely to be back on air twice a year in the future.
Fox likes to launch shows in January; earlier this year it debuted both its new Denis Leary-fronted comedy Going Dutch and medical drama Doc, which have both been renewed for second seasons, and premiered new dramas such as The Cleaning Lady, Alert: Missing Persons Unit and Accused at the start of the year. Unscripted shows such as Lego Masters, Gordon Ramsay’s Next Level Chef, Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, The Floor, Name That Tune, Farmer Wants A Wife and Extracted also all launched in the first 10 weeks of the year.
The network said that it would return with a “super-charged” Season 14. “Debuting the new season in January is a strategic move to give ample runway for America’s favorite guessing game and allow us to creatively look at enhancing the show with the biggest names at the center of it,” a Fox spokeswoman told Deadline.
There are very few shows of the scale of The Masked Singer that still air two seasons a year; NBC has two seasons of The Voice per year and CBS still airs two seasons of Survivor each year but The Amazing Race paired back to one season per year in 2016 and ABC waltzed off with only one season of Dancing with the Stars each year in 2019.
The Masked Singer is hosted by Nick Cannon with Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, Robin Thicke and Rita Ora as panelists.
It is produced by Fox Alternative Entertainment. Craig Plestis, who runs Smart Dog Media and found the Korean format, exec produces alongside Cannon and Rosie Seitchik, who serves as showrunner.
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