The Masked Singer's Season 2 premiere isn't far off, which means the guessing game that captivated America in Season 1 will soon enrapture audiences anew. Because last season's clues were probably easier to figure out than producers intended, nearly all the remaining contestants had been figured out after only a few weeks of competition. Granted, the online sleuthing was never confirmed to be correct until the contestant was unmasked, but a majority of the internet was on track with its guessing. (Us included.)
We can't say for sure just yet how much harder Season 2's celebrities will be to figure out, although CinemaBlend learned from judge Jenny McCarthy and one of The Masked Singer's executive producers that the plan was to make the contestants much more difficult to figure out for both the judges and at-home audiences. The EP said that this season, the producers went harder one coaching the 16 contestants in ways that helped them keep their identities a secret more successfully.
We told all the singers to hide their mannerisms, any mannerisms that they have that might be recognizable, so they all got really good at that. It’s hard to disguise a mannerism or a gesture that you don’t even know. We researched all of the singers’ movements and then got our choreographers to give them suggestions on how to hide them.
The celebs' recognizable mannerisms did play a part in helping the judges identify some of the contestants in The Masked Singer Season 1. Jenny McCarthy mentioned her fellow judge Robin Thicke was able to sniff out Terry Bradshaw as The Deer thanks to Bradshaw's trademark shoulder shrug. Thicke had also managed to figure out Ricki Lake as The Raven because of the way she placed her hand over her heart. These are small movements, but they lead to big Eureka moments. With these new changes in place, Thicke may struggle if he's depending solely on recognizing the celebs' tics.
That's not all The Masked Singer's behind-the-scenes team thought of to make things harder on the judges. Jenny McCarthy says the judges and viewers have to rely on the verbal clues even more than they did in Season 1, because looks may be deceiving when it comes to the celebs' shapes and sizes. In McCarthy's words:
They wore padding in the costumes. You can’t tell their body shapes.
That may be a big hindrance to viewers, who were able to confirm the identities of singers like Joey Fatone and LaToya Jackson largely due to the shape of their bodies. Changing mannerisms and disguising people's heights and weights will presumably remove a lot of the physical clues that the contestants aren't in control of. So for Season 2, viewers and the judges will have to rely on their clue sleuthing and voice-matching skills to figure out each marvelous contestant before their unmasking.
The Masked Singer premieres on Fox Wednesday, September 25 at 8:00 p.m. ET, with a sneak peek airing on Fox on Sunday, September 15. Stick with CinemaBlend for updates on the season as it progresses, and for all the latest news happening in the world of television and movies during the fall season.
