Following the success of The Masked Singer, Fox and Ellen DeGeneres are partnering to bring more disguised entertainment to the network, Fox announced on Tuesday ahead of its winter TCA panel in Pasadena, Calif.
The Masked Dancer, inspired by a popular segment on The Ellen Show, will see celebrity contestants performing unique dances while covered in elaborate costumes and face masks, leaving audiences and panelists to guess their identities. A premiere date has yet to be announced.
“This is gonna be just as fun and suspenseful as The Masked Singer, but with a lot more krumping,” DeGeneres said in a statement. “And I cannot wait!”
Meanwhile, the flagship series will see some changes when season three airs after the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 2. For the first time, 18 fully-disguised contestants will be split into three groups of six. Each group will be whittled down to three contestants each before all three groups come together to battle it out.
Fox also announced that actor, singer and Beat Shazam host Jamie Foxx will join Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke as a guest judge this season.
The first day of winter TCA 2020 also brought a new look at the 911 spinoff series starring Rob Lowe and Liv Tyler: 911: Lonestar.
9-1-1: Lone Star debuts with a special two-night event beginning Sunday, Jan. 19. Series co-creator, executive producer and showrunner Tim Minear stated it will resemble the original series’ format and tone; however, it’ll serve as a standalone, character-centric edition.
“We’ve talked about it; we are not there yet,” Minear said about a potential cross-over between the flagship and Lone Star. “Right now, what I am interested in is keeping it in their own lane.”
Other new series are on the horizon for Fox in the wake of its new chapter, such as OutMatched, which stars Jason Biggs and Maggie Lawson as parents to four kids (three of which are geniuses); Next, which shows what happens when artificial intelligence goes rogue; and the Kim Cattrall-led Filthy Rich. Check out the trailers here:
Stay tuned for more coverage of the 2020 winter TCA press tour from Pasadena, Calif.