The Masked Singer is a show unlike any other on American primetime. Fox's new music competition series looked bonkers enough that it could either be a huge flop or a massive hit. Well, new numbers for the series premiere are in, and it's already clear that The Masked Singer is not a massive flop. After preliminary ratings that were already impressive, the newly-calculated ratings have The Masked Singer setting a record for Fox.
The first episode of The Masked Singer saw the largest gain in both ratings and overall viewership after a span of three days of any unscripted series. In Live+3 day calculations, the Masked Singer premiere scored a rating of 3.9 in the key 18-49 age demographic and 12.3 million total viewers, according to Deadline. That represents a boost of 0.9 in the key demo ratings and 2.9 million in viewership.
The Masked Singer can now boast that its premiere set the record for the biggest unscripted Live+3 ratings boost as well as the highest-rated unscripted debut in more than seven years. At this point, Fox has to be feeling pretty good about the new show, although if the ratings follow the trend for most shows that get off to strong starts, we can probably expect the ratings to dip in the coming episodes. Even if that does happen, it's safe to say that the show got off to a very strong start.
That said, I am curious about how the ratings for the next few weeks will compare to the premiere. The trailers for The Masked Singer indicated that viewers would be in for a wild ride, with famous contestants hidden behind elaborate costumes and only dropping cryptic hints about their identities, all for the purpose of belting out a song without the judges (or viewers) knowing the celebrity doing the singing.
Some of the folks who tuned in to the premiere may have really only wanted a taste to discover what the bonkers new show is actually like, with no intent of following through and watching the full first season. Ratings for shows generally drop after the first episode airs, so there's no reason for fans to panic if it stops breaking records sooner rather than later.
Then again, who's to say? The Masked Singer already generated plenty of buzz with its premiere, which revealed the identity of one of the contestants when he was voted out of the competition despite a lively Bobby Brown cover. There are still several celebrities who have not yet been unmasked, and even our very best guesses could be off. The Masked Singer could conceivably hold on to a decent chunk of its audience or perhaps even attract newcomers.
See more celebrities lose their masks in new episodes of The Masked Singer, airing on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox. If The Masked Singer isn't up your alley, check out our midseason TV premiere schedule for more viewing options.
