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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Thursday, December 24, 2020 4 By Rachel Jones TV Media W ho's behind the mask? Find out with Craig Robinson ("Hot Tub Time Machine," 2010) as he hosts the series premiere of "The Masked Dancer," airing Sunday, Dec. 27, on Fox. A spinoff of the network's hit series "The Masked Singer," "The Masked Dancer" shares more with its mother show than just a similar name. Based on the same premise but fea- turing a different art form at its core, this new series shines the spotlight on heavily disguised celebrity contestants perform- ing dance routines while a team of superstar panelists tries to guess their identity. It won't be an easy task, though; every contestant will be wear- ing both a mask and a full- length costume to conceal any potentially distinguishing fea- tures. The panelists include singer Paula Abdul ("American Idol"), actor and former "Masked Singer" contestant Brian Aus- tin Green ("Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles"), ac- tress Ashley Tisdale ("High School Musical," 2006) and comedian Ken Jeong ("The Hangover," 2009), who's been a staple of "The Masked Sing- er" since its conception in early January 2019. A toe-tapping phenomenon, "The Masked Dancer" — like the "Singer" series — relies on more than just the cunning guesses of its esteemed panel- ists. Following a video full of clues to further confuse the panelists, they wager their guesses on the megastar be- hind the mask. While the pan- elists rack their brains to make sense of the clues they were given, the audience votes for their favorite contestants with the hope of seeing them move forward in the competition. Each week after the votes are tabulated, the losing singer is unmasked, revealing their true identity. For those of you familiar with "The Masked Singer," no doubt this all sounds very fa- miliar to you, but do not panic — there are still some changes to be had beyond the name and the art form. Fox has an- nounced that each contestant on "The Masked Dancer" will perform a different style of dance with their own masked partner (à la "Dancing with the Stars" … kind of). Interestingly enough for those of you who may be less familiar with the show's con- cept, although both series are current U.S. productions, the concept for these masked shows is actually based on a South Korean television series called "King of Mask Singer." Spotting the gem while travel- ling in Thailand, executive pro- ducer Craig Plestis ("Minute to Win It") was intrigued by the format and, after lengthy chats with the show's production company, he secured the rights to produce an American ver- sion of his very own. Throughout its four seasons to date, "The Masked Singer" has proven to be incredibly popular, having become one of the highest-rated, non-sports, unscripted programs in the United States. Apart from its American (and, naturally, South Korean) cult following, the show has spread world- wide, although it's usually modified to fit each country's culture during production. Some of the countries where the series has really taken off include the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Slovakia, Is- rael, Russia, Greece, Ukraine and Finland. And while the idea for "The Masked Singer" came to Ples- tis while immersed in Asian culture, the idea for "The Masked Dancer" came about in a much more roundabout way. After the first episode of "The Masked Singer" aired, El- len DeGeneres ("The Ellen De- Generes Show") introduced a spoof version of it called "The Masked Dancer" on her talk show. The segment was an in- stant hit, with some of the pan- elists from "The Masked Sing- er" — including Ken Jeong and Nicole Scherzinger ("Men in Black 3," 2012) — joining in the fun. Even the show's host, Nick Cannon ("Drumline," 2002), participated. After DeGeneres' show aired the spoof, "The Ellen De- Generes Show" producers were contacted by Fox about the possibility of a television series based on her "The Masked Dancer" segment. In January 2020, at its winter Television Critics Association press tour, Fox announced a co-operative production be- tween itself and Warner Broth- ers, and thus "The Masked Dancer" was born as a stand- alone series. Casting for "The Masked Dancer" started in January 2020, and filming followed shortly thereafter. The format of the show, as mentioned, re- mained true to its parent pro- gram — from the premise to the costumes and the clues — though it was, in some ways, much trickier than the "The Masked Singer." As singing can easily be done solo, it is not un- common for dance routines to be performed in pairs or in a team (not to mention that it also brings an element of piz- zazz and added confusion to the piece when it features mul- tiple moving parts). So, al- though we might see a couple of solo performances through- out the pioneer season, be pre- pared for most dances to be performed in a coupling or group. coverstory Paula Abdul stars in "The Masked Dancer" Keep 'em guessing: Fox introduces 'The Masked Dancer' By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: This past month, "Masterpiece" on PBS ran a story called "Flesh and Blood." It ended abruptly a week ago, leaving many stories incomplete. Maybe it was sup- posed to end that way, but I hope it continues some- time. Do you know? A: There's been no official word about a second season of "Flesh and Blood." At first blush, it looked more like a minise- ries, but the creator said a second season is possible. She said that before the first season aired, though, and no one's said much since. That's not a great sign. It got great buzz ahead of time, loaded with stars who are a big deal over in Britain, at least (though Imelda Staunton's role as Delores Umbridge in the later Harry Potter films made her a fairly big deal everywhere). An enthusiastic review of the first episode in the Guardian said it "beautifully set up" the other three episodes in the sea- son, but the reviews got worse from there. Discussion of the fi- nal episode echoed your own comments — it was a little con- fusing and left a bunch of its ends loose. Normally, we'd talk about this as a "cliffhanger" to set up a second season, but most signs pointed to "Flesh and Blood" being designed as a miniseries rather than an ongoing thing. Four episodes is a short order for a regular series, and the fact that those episodes aired over four straight nights in Brit- ain also feels pretty miniseries-esque. However, series creator Sarah Williams said she at least has ideas for a second season. "There is further meat on the bone," she told U.K. newspaper The Independent prior to the show's premiere. "I love these characters, I did get very attached to all of them and I would love to follow all of their stories." The first season aired back in February in the U.K. If this were an American series, we'd probably know by now whether it got a renewal, but British TV is less tied to a yearly schedule. Q: I saw Harry Shearer and Michael McKean, who did all those mockumentaries together, on separate epi- sodes of "Friends." Is there some connection there? A: It goes deeper than just Harry Shearer and Michael McK- ean. If you look across all 10 seasons of "Friends," you'll see most of the regulars from that series of mockumentaries (com- edy favorites such as 2003's "A Mighty Wind" and 2000's "Best in Show"): Shearer, McKean, Jane Lynch, Bob Balaban, Fred Willard and Jennifer Coolidge. That seems like too much to be a coincidence, until you look at the rest of the "Friends" guest list. That show devoured guest stars, and its success meant it had the funds to shell out for big ones. Along with the impressive list above, "Friends" also benefit- ed from pop-ins by Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito, Hugh Laurie, Ben Stiller, Reese Witherspoon and way, way more. Could there be a better list of guest stars? (Yes, that is a "Friends" reference.) All of this is to say that it seems the only connection that led to McKean and Shearer appearing on "Friends" is the show's connection to an unbelievably full Rolodex (remember, this was the '90s). Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A

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