Now that The Masked Singer has aired its Season 1 finale, a producer for the show is sharing details of Season 2.
During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Masked Singer executive producer Craig Plestis opened up about the show and what they have in store going forward.
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“When we went bizarre and went a little crazy, it worked, and we know that’s the secret ingredient that we’re going do for season two. So if you think this season was bizarre, just wait until you see season two,” he said.
Scroll down to read more about Season 2 of The Masked Singer!
Less Clues
One thing that show may do next season is feature fewer, or harder, clues. When asked if producers may “hold back on the clues a little bit so people can’t Google everything,” Plestis replied, “Yes; give a little bit, but not too much.”
“We’ve said this from day one: if you pay attention, you watch really closely, or watch it again, you can figure it out.,” he added. “We really want to make sure that we have all the tools there. If you look at that license plate on Pineapple’s car and you look at the birthdate on it, and you figure it out that it is the Pineapple’s birthday. You can add all these clues up and go, ‘OK, without a doubt, I know who’s underneath that mask.’ It’s like a well-crafted crime novel. And that’s a little bit what we have to do with the show.”
“It’s not just thinking about producing one episode. We really have to look at the arc of the characters for all the episodes and imagine that they go all the way through each one, and then how to piece those and give away those pieces of information along every episode,” Plestis also said. “So there’s a lot of crafting that we have to do with our show that you normally don’t do for storytelling, and we just need to be on our game again for season two.”
A-List Celebs?
Plestis also shared that high-caliber celebrities are interested in appearing on the show, and that they are actively hoping to get them.
“We’re lucky because with the success of our show, we’ve been getting lots of responses from all different kinds of celebrities who want to be involved in it. So as much as it was difficult first season, it’s slightly easier now for the second season,” he explained.
“We’ll pick that right combination of different celebrities to go underneath the mask. We’re open to every level. As long as they’re passionate, they want to do it. They’re going to have to wear these heavy outfits and for X-number of weeks and it give it their all,” Plestis added.
Episode Order
The Masked Singer EP also shared that there is a possibility that the show will have its episode order increased for Season 2.
“That’s what we’re talking with FOX as to what it’s going to be. I always go with [the adage] if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. We had great success with what we did here. It’s just about making it better,” he said.
More Security
Plestis also stated they will be beefing up security for Season 2, and confirmed that there are currently no plans to move to a live performance format.
“There’s [a lot of] stuff going on editing-wise, so I think we’ll probably still be a taped show, just hopefully add a little bit more security. But that’s still yet to be determined 100 percent,” he said.
“We’re going to be hiring more security people. Now that we’re on everyone’s radar it’s making sure that, when we’re filming it, everyone has given up their iPhones and cameras,” Plestis later added. “It’s making sure that no pictures are taken during the performances and being really on top of it. To make sure that no one has a picture of our celebrities underneath the masks. That’s going to be our key for the next season, just being on top of our game.”
Guest Judges
Regarding changes to the judging panel, Plestis said that producers are happy with the current dynamic, but that they would love to have more guests as well.
“Our goal is to bring back everyone that we had and to have more guest stars as you go along. Joel McHale and Kenan Thompson and JB Smoove were fantastic. They brought a lot of life and a fresh perspective to the show each week — fresh eyes and wonderment that you get from having that first-time guest star come over there. That’s an area we’d love to explore more each week, bringing in a fresh voice,” he said.
Plestis then elaborated on the guest judges possibility, following a comment by contestant Joey Fatone who said that he would love to return to the show in that capacity.
“We would be happy to have Joey as a guest judge. The great thing about Joey and our other contestants is that they bring a unique perspective when they see our new batch of contestants come and perform that none of the other judges will have. They know what they had to do to keep that a secret and also what they had to do to perform. What they have to say is really important. I would love to hear what he would say after seeing someone else perform,” he stated.
Costume Changes
The next season of The Masked Singer will also showcase more costume changes for the singers, with the example of T-Pain’s Monster wearing a leather jacket during his performance of “American Woman” being referred to.
“There will be more of that next season. It’s not just having them come back out in the same old outfit. You’re performers, you need to dress up for that particular song and have some fun with it. We’ll play with that as well as just having fun with those backup dancers,” Plestis said.
“One of the things I don’t think a lot of people really noticed was all the work that we did with the different backup dancers. You couldn’t see their faces. Everybody had a mask on, or they covered their faces completely with something,” he added. “That’s the key for our show here — it’s all about the masks and keeping that alive. It’s a little scary sometimes when you see all these different creatures that we had in the background as well. But that’s the fun part.”
Filming
Season 2 of The Masked Singer does not have an official start date, but Plestis says they will be ready to go as soon as possible.
“We’re already hitting the ground running in the sense of looking at costumes, looking at formats, starting the casting process. So whenever Fox says that they want it, we’ll be ready to get it going,” he said.
Premiere Date
At this time, there is no telling when Season 2 of The Masked Singer will premiere, but Plestis says they are working vigilantly toward getting things underway.
“We’re actually meeting [with FOX] this week to go over our calendar and what our shoot schedule will be. I can’t comment on that until we get that signed off on,” he said.
“We’re constantly thinking what our format will be, what we need to tweak a little bit, what our new costumes are going to be. That’s the fun part — trying to figure out our brand new characters that are going come out and shine for America,” Plestis added.
Hulu subscribers can revisit The Masked Singer Season 1 anytime on the streaming platform.
