Fremantle has acquired production rights to format “The Masked Dancer” in 29 territories across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The dance guessing show is a spin-off format of “The Masked Singer” originally created by MBC in South Korea. It sees celebrity contestants wear head-to-toe costumes and face masks that conceal their identities, while performing a dance. A panel of judges then attempts to guess the dancers’ identities using clues given.
“The Masked Dancer” premiered on Fox in the U.S. in December, 2020. It began as a segment on “The Ellen Show,” the popularity of which spawned a series commission. A U.K. version of the show bows on broadcaster ITV on May 29.
Vasha Wallace, EVP global acquisitions and development, Fremantle, said: “Hot off the success we’ve had globally with ‘The Masked Singer,’ we are delighted to now be representing ‘The Masked Dancer.’ We are already in active discussions with many broadcasters around the world who are excited about a dance companion to ‘The Masked Singer.’ We’re confident that it will be popular with our viewers who will enjoy guessing which celebrities are shaking their tail feathers behind their masks. We also are delighted to once again be working with our partners at MBC on ‘The Masked Dancer’.”
Park Jeong-Kyu, chief producer, “The Masked Singer,” MBC, added: “It has been overwhelming to follow the phenomenal global success of this show. ‘The Masked Singer’ has now become a strong brand internationally, having been distributed to more than 50 countries worldwide. We are very thankful that the show has touched the hearts of global audiences, during what has been a very difficult time. We hope that the great success of ‘The Masked Singer’ be inherited by its spinoff format, ‘The Masked Dancer’.”
“The Masked Singer,” which originated from the MBC’s South Korean program “The King of Mask Singer,” is now a global phenomenon. Fremantle also hold the production rights to “The Masked Singer” in the same 29 territories with local adaptions of the format resonating. In Norway it was the highest rated show of 2020 and it also won the Gullruten award for best entertainment show of the Year. In Sweden the series was the biggest entertainment show launch for TV4 in eight years, while in Finland it was MTV3’s number one show of 2020. In Belgium it was the highest rated entertainment show of 2020 and VTM’s highest rated show in 20 years. In Spain, series one was the biggest entertainment show launch in eight years.