Three Fast Tracks The Masked Singer USA
September 11, 2020 
2 Comments
Kiwis will be among the first in the world to see the latest US season of the reality smash, The Masked Singer.
Three will screen season four 7.30 on Fridays from September 25, the day after its Fox broadcast.
Yesterday I posted the network would premiere S1 eight months after its US debut but a spokeswoman says S4 is the first that’s been made available for fast-tracking here.
“We are really excited to be bringing it to New Zealand audiences incredibly close to the US broadcast.”
Hosted by comedian and rapper, Nick Cannon, the show’s panelists include Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, Robin Thicke and a rotating line-up of celebrity guest judges.
Three bills The Masked Singer as “not a who-done it but a who-sung it?!”:
Each week, celebrities face off against one another while dressed head to toe in elaborate costumes, completely hiding their identity. With each performance the guests, the panelists, the other contestants and even the host are left guessing who the celebrity performer could be. At the end of every episode, a masked singer is then eliminated, revealing his or her true identity. While the remaining celebrities continue on in a bid to win the penultimate prize, The Golden Mask trophy.
In the US, Fox is pairing The Masked Singer’s return with another Jeong vehicle based on another novelty Korean format, I Can See Your Voice.
Curb Your Enthusiam’s Cheryl Hines and US TV host and vocalist Adrienne Bailon-Houghton will join Jeong and “a rotating panel of celebrity detectives” to help one contestant tell the difference between good and bad singers, without ever hearing them sing a note.
With the US networks’ fall schedules in disarray because of Covid-19 disruptions to scripted productions, cheap and quick-to-make reality fare like The Masked Singer and I Can See Your Voice will dominate the roll-out of new shows after the Emmy Awards on September 21.
Meanwhile, there’s no word on if Three will screen the UK or Australian franchises if the US version’s a hit here.
Warning: preg_replace(): Unknown modifier '/' in /home/customer/www/screenscribe.net/public_html/wp-content/themes/headlines/includes/theme-comments.php on line 66
September 11, 2020 at 11:02 pm
Wait, MediaWorks waits until they have sold off Three and their other channels to start fast tracking shows?
To be fair, K, this was the first season of The Masked Singer they could fast track and the timing was perfect given the raft of new shows that will be launched before and after it. But, generally, yes — Three has been slipshod in not broadcasting its most popular procedurals closer to their US air dates.