The premiere date for season 4 of “The Masked Singer” is a mystery no longer.
Fox has announced that its wildly popular guessing game show will debut its fourth season on Sept. 23 in its usual 8 p.m. time slot. Not only that, but the network has decided to fast-track singing competition series “I Can See Your Voice,” hosted by “Masked Singer” judge Ken Jeong.
The new series, also based on a Korean format, will premiere right behind “Masked Singer” on the same day. “Masterchef Jr.” was originally scheduled to have “Masked Singer” as a lead-in, but sources say the cooking show has now been pushed as it has been unable to return to set due to COVID-19.
“I Can See Your Voice” was ordered to series only seven months ago, and features actress Cheryl Hines and television host and vocalist Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, who will join Jeong and a rotating panel of celebrity detectives to help one contestant tell the difference between good and bad singers, without ever hearing them sing a note.
With $100,000 on the line, the contestant will attempt to weed out the bad “Secret Voices” from the good, based on a series of clues, interrogation, and lip synch challenges.
Rob Wade, Fox Entertainment’s president of alternative entertainment & specials, said the pairing will make for “a fantastic night of family entertainment.”
“Safely filming ‘I Can See Your Voice’ this summer was a win in itself, but when we saw the pure magic of the show and felt the palpable suspense in the room before that first note hit, we knew we had to share it with audiences this season,” said Wade. “It’s no secret that viewers need a little fun and escape now and, as a companion to an all-new season of ‘The Masked Singer,’ this will be a fantastic night of family entertainment – and a fantastic night of Ken Jeong!”
“The Masked Singer” premiere date announcement comes less than a week after the show returned to set, taking all the usual COVID-19 production precautions, of course.
Jeong will be joined once again by regular judges Nicole Scherzinger, Robin Thicke and Jenny McCarthy. Nick Cannon will also return as host, which at one point seemed for from a certainty given the criticism he received for making anti-Semitic comments on his podcast back in mid-July. Whereas ViacomCBS terminated its long-term relationship with Cannon as a result, Fox stood by him and kept him on as “Masked Singer” host.
Fox has also released a brief teaser showing which characters the masked celebrities will play next season:
Take a look at the full list of Fox premiere dates (most of which were previously announced) below:
Sunday, Sept. 13
5:00-6:00 PM THE MASKED SINGER (Special Season Four Sneak Peek)
Monday, Sept. 21
8:00-9:00 PM L.A.’S FINEST (Network Television Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM FILTHY RICH (Series Premiere)
Tuesday, Sept. 22
8:00-10:00 PM COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS (Network Television Premiere)
Wednesday, Sept. 23
8:00-9:00 PM THE MASKED SINGER (Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM I CAN SEE YOUR VOICE (Series Premiere)
Sunday, Sept. 27
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (Season Premiere)
8:30-9:00 PM BLESS THE HARTS (Season Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM BOB’S BURGERS (Season Premiere)
9:30-10:00 PM FAMILY GUY (Season Premiere)
Tuesday, Oct. 6
8:00-9:00 PM COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS
9:00-10:00 PM NEXT (Series Premiere)