The Masked Singer Season 5 - What We Know So Far
It's that time of year again: Another random group of celebrities are preparing to don wild costumes and confuse Ken Jeong on The Masked Singer season 5. The hit reality series wrapped season 4 in December 2020 with its most high profile winner yet, Grammy Award winning artist LeAnn Rimes, who stole the show with her voice and her dazzling sun costume. As always, Fox is keeping mum on which celebrities will be behind the masks in season 5, but you can bet the network has plenty of surprises in store for fans (and the judges).
With its mix of singing, elaborate costumes, and familiar faces, The Masked Singer has emerged as the ultimate comfort food show. And celebrities seem to agree. Since the series' 2019 premiere, everyone from Wayne Brady to Gladys Knight has gamely joined in the fun. Along the way, several unexpected celebs have wowed viewers with their singing chops too, including NFL player Victor Oladipo and Dr. Elvis Francois.
As a result, you never really know who will pop up on the wonderfully weird reality show. However, we do know a few tidbits about The Masked Singer season 5 that will hold you over until the premiere.
When does The Masked Singer season 5 premiere on Fox?
If you're already missing tossing out random guesses at your TV screen while a mystery celeb belts out a classic tune, then you're in luck: The Masked Singer season 5 will premiere Wednesday, March 10 at 8:00 p.m. EST on Fox, as reported by TVLine. Don't have a cable subscription? No problem. You can also stream new episodes on Hulu the day after they premiere.
There's no word yet on how many episodes will be in season 5, but season 4, which was the first season that had to deal with COVID-19 restrictions, still managed to pull off 12 episodes. And while that made season 4 the shortest installment since the first season (which had a total of 10 episodes), it still gave the producers plenty of time to pull off some wow-worthy unmaskings, including that shocking Mickey Rourke moment.
Whether season 5 is short and sweet or longer like earlier editions of The Masked Singer, fans should go in expecting the unexpected.
What will The Masked Singer costumes look like in season 5?
Fox always waits until the last possible minute to reveal each season's costumes, so we're currently short on season 5 intel. But what we do know is that the next batch of costumes will be unique. In an October 2020 interview with The New York Post, the show's costume designer Marina Toybina revealed that her season 4 goal was to produce the brightest, most cheerful costumes yet, and she plans to keep challenging herself with each new installment of the show.
"I try to push my own creative envelope in using resources from film, theater or the little things I'm inspired by," she explained. "Every time I think of a new character it's important to come up with a story for that character ... Every single costume has never been a repeat from the way it's been sewn and built and we've used so many beautiful techniques."
Which judges are returning for The Masked Singer season 5?
Season 5 of The Masked Singer will keep its original group of judges intact. Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, and Robin Thicke are all returning for another season at the judges' table, and they'll be competing for the Golden Ear again (via Entertainment Weekly). Introduced in season 4, the Golden Ear is awarded to the judge who gets the most "first impressions" guesses right. Since McCarthy took home the award last season, look for her to be fierce about defending her title.
As of writing, no guest judges have been confirmed, but the first few episodes of season 5 will have a guest host. In early February, Variety reported that actress and The Masked Singer guest judge Niecy Nash will temporarily step in for Nick Cannon, who is quarantining after testing positive for the coronavirus. While it's unclear how many episodes Cannon will miss, he is expected to return to his hosting duties at some point during the season.
Even though there are still lots of unknowns about what to expect from the next season of The Masked Singer, one thing is certain: It will be a relief to have this wacky reality show back on our screens again.