FOX at TCA: Jamie Foxx on ‘Masked Singer,’ ‘Masked Dancer’ Spinoff & More
Fans of Fox’s The Masked Singer are in for quite the treat.
The network announced a new guest panelist for the Season 3 premiere and a new series inspired by the hit competition series at the Winter 2020 TCA Press Tour. Plus, find out who will be guest-starring on LEGO Masters and get the details on a new holiday special.
The Masked Singer‘s Special Guest
Jamie Foxx, host of Fox’s Beat Shazam, will appear as a guest panelist for The Masked Singer Season 3 premiere alongside host Nick Cannon and panelists Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, and Robin Thicke. That premiere airs immediately following Super Bowl LIV on Sunday, February 2. The series moves to its regular day and time period (8/7c) on Wednesday, February 5.
Season 3’s costumes include The Robot, The Frog, The Banana, The Mouse, Miss Monster, and The Llama, some of which have already been teased in a promo. The contestants have a combined 69 Grammy Award nominations, 88 Gold records, 11 Super Bowl appearances, three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, more than 160 tattoos, and one title in the Guinness Book of World Records.
From The Ellen Show to Fox
If that’s not enough masked fun for you, Fox and Emmy Award-winning talk show host Ellen DeGeneres are producing The Masked Dancer, inspired by a popular segment on her show. Masked celebrity contestants will perform unique dances, and it’s up to the audience to guess their identities.
“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,” Rob Wade, President, Alternative Entertainment & Specials, FOX Entertainment, said. “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 added. “And I cannot wait!”
LEGO Masters Celebrity Fans
The first season of the new competition series hosted by Will Arnett will include celebrity guests Mayim Bialik, Terry Crews, Nicole Byer, and The LEGO Movie writers and directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.
(Drew Herrmann/FOX)
Bialik will appear in a space-themed episode and help contestants pair LEGO-building expertise with their knowledge of the universe. Crews will participate in a “Good vs. Evil” challenge which will have “major implications” on the competition. Byer will help out in a “Story Book”-themed episode, and Lord and Miller will appear in a “Movie Genres”-themed episode.
Plus, in a Star Wars-themed episode with guests BB-8, C3PO, and R2-D2, contestants will build with their own droids and replicate iconic scenes inspired by the movies.
A New Stop-Motion Holiday Special
Ready for a mix of classic holiday icons and new minor mascots? Fox ordered a stop-motion holiday special from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios with that premise for next winter’s “Not So Silent Nights” holiday-themed programming.
In the hour from the company founded by Seth Green, John Harvatine IV, Matthew Senreich, and Eric Towner, icons like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny come together with brand-new minor mascots from Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Thanksgiving, and even Daylight Savings Day.
John Harvatine, Matthew Senreich, and Seth Green (Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for ReedPOP)
“I truly love this project and we couldn’t ask for a better partner than FOX, since they’ve consistently been a leader in high-quality, provocative and subversive entertainment,” Green said. “We are very excited to make what we intend to be both a nostalgic and modern holiday classic.”
“FOX has a long and valued history with Seth as an actor, due largely to his fantastic voice work as ‘Chris Griffin’ on Family Guy. But Seth and his partners at Stoopid Buddy have created best-in-class stop-motion animation as well, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to grow this relationship,” Michael Thorn, President, Entertainment, FOX Entertainment, said. “It also builds on our commitment to create holiday programming, and with Seth’s innate understanding of our company’s irreverent brand, we’re looking forward to a seasonal special that, simply put, could only air on FOX.”
“As kids, we looked forward to holiday programming all year,” the special’s writer Tom Root added. “Our goal is to give grown-ups like us — fans of FOX animated shows with sick senses of humor — a holiday program worth watching after the kids are in bed.”
The Masked Singer, Season 3 Premiere, Sunday, February 2, Fox
LEGO Masters, Series Premiere, Wednesday, February 5, 9/8c, Fox
