‘The Masked Singer’ Season 4: Here’s Everything We Know – So Far

The Wrap

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“The Masked Singer” is set to premiere its fourth season later this month on Fox. And you know what that means, right? New contestants, new costumes and new levels of insanity for those masked celebrities participating in the new season of the “whosungit” show.

And while we still don’t know everything about “The Masked Singer” Season 4, TheWrap has gathered up enough details about the upcoming episodes to share them with you, our dear readers. See our list below, which will continue to be updated as more information becomes available.

*1. When will it premiere?*
Fox revealed last week that “The Masked Singer” Season 4 will premiere Wednesday, Sept. 23 in its usual 8 p.m. time slot. And it will be followed by the series premiere of “Masked Singer” panelist Ken Jeong’s new competition series, “I Can See Your Voice.” This Sunday, Fox will air a sneak-peek preview of the new season at 8/7c.

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*2. When did it go into production?*
When Fox renewed “The Masked Singer” for Season 4 in May, the network said it was hopeful production on the new batch of episodes would begin in early August. The fourth season went into production Aug. 20 in Los Angeles, with new safety guidelines in place due to the COVID-19.

*3. Who is hosting and who are the judges?*
Don’t worry, your standard team is still intact for Season 4: Nick Cannon will be returning as host and Ken Jeong, Nicole Scherzinger, Robin Thicke and Jenny McCarthy will once again serve as the show’s panelists.

*4. Who are the guest judges?*
We have no idea yet, so check back later.

*5. What costumes have been revealed so far?*
Fox said Friday that 16 contestants total will be competing on the fourth season, but the names of only 15 costumes have been announced so far, including Gremlin, Snow Owls (the show’s first two-celebrity costume), Crocodile, Giraffe, Broccoli, Popcorn, Seahorse, Jellyfish, Mushroom, Whatchamacallit, Squiggly Monster, Dragon, Baby Alien, Sun and Lips. And we’ve only actually seen 13 of those costumes, with the final three — Seahorse, Baby Alien and a yet-to-be-named mask — set to be revealed during the show’s sneak-peek special Sunday.

(In case you were wondering, Season 4 has 17 masked celebrities total, but 16 contestants, because the Snow Owls count as one competitor, according to Fox.)

Readers can scroll to the bottom of this story to see all the Season 4 costumes that have been shared by Fox — so far.

“Masked Singer” creator Craig Plestis and costume designer Marina Toybina have given a few hints about what you can expect to in the way of costumes this time around.

“I wish I could show you what she’s done so far,” Plestis said during a virtual panel June 26. “They’re so incredible and inventive. There are things that we’ve never seen in three seasons of the show that I just can’t wait to show America.” He added that the new designs will make it “even harder to decipher the [masked celebrities] than before.”

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“I’m working with new craftsmen, new shops, new pattern-makers, constantly trying to figure out and create more and more for every single costume that we do,” Toybina said during the online event. “We create a lot of our own fabrics, which in Season 1, I was able to explore that world, but going into Season 4 it really is a lot of custom work. And almost every costume is finished by hand. For me, I’ve dabbled in a lot more research now and I’m dealing with 3D printing, which I’ve never done before. Just all these ways of creating our own materials, our own structures. Learning a new way to create masks from scratch. What kind of forms can we build? We have to consider the ideas of vocal and vision and making everything breathable.”

*6. How many celebrities are competing this time?*
In Season 1, “The Masked Singer” had 12 celebrity contestants competing. For Season 2, 16 contestants competed. In Season 3, the show boasted its largest lineup yet with 18 masked competitors. Though Fox has now revealed the names of 15 costumes for Season 4, they’ve confirmed 16 total contestants will be competing this time around.

*7. What will the format look like?*
We don’t know that yet — but neither does Plestis, kinda.

“We’re still tweaking it a little bit, to be honest, right now, based on some of the creative that we’re playing around with,” Plestis said during the June panel. “But I gotta say, I’m really excited by the changes that we’re doing to some of the little beats within the show. But America loves it, so I don’t want to change too much and hurt the franchise.”

*Also Read:* Nick Cannon to Remain Fox's 'Masked Singer' Host After His Apology for Anti-Semitic Comments

Plestis added: “You’ll see that even more in Season 4, the gamesmanship has been upped beyond belief with what we’re doing.”

*8. How has the coronavirus affected production?*
When “The Masked Singer” Season 4 began production last month, it did so without a studio audience for the first time in the show’s history, one of the safety precautions put in place due to the pandemic. However, this change has had a silver lining: The Fox singing competition will be adding a fan-voting component for the first time ever this season.

“Masked Singer” super fans will have a chance to be a part of a “virtual audience” from the safety of their homes, watch performances and cast their vote as to which costumed singers they would like to see again.

The votes will be taken virtually and help determine the outcome of the competition, which is normally decided by “Masked Singer” panelists Jenny McCarthy, Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong and Nicole Scherzinger, and the studio audience — not fans at home, due to the fact the show is pre-taped.

*Also Read:* 25 Wildest 'Masked Singer' Identity Reveals, From Sarah Palin to Lil Wayne (Photos)

You can sign up to be part of the at-home audience here.

“We’re full steam ahead, but everyone is operating in their isolated little bubbles in their houses,” Plestis said during the June 26 panel when the new season was still in the pre-production stage. “We’re getting the work done. It takes a lot longer, I’m not going to lie. It’s a lot more energy, a lot of Zoom calls, as Marina knows. I think we talk every day, multiple times a day on Zoom.”

He continued: “And prepping for the show taping itself is all about making sure that everyone is protected going into production with testing and everything else and a limited amount of people on sets and keeping people, even when they get into production, in an isolated position. So safety is key all the way across for our crew and our talent. It’s a lot of extra work, a lot of extra money, but it’s worth the energy to produce this.”

*9. Will there be an audience this season, given the possible safety problems posed by COVID-19?*
Nope. The studio audience has been scrapped due to COVID. (See details above.)

*Also Read:* Fall TV 2020: All the Premiere Dates for New and Returning Shows - So Far (Photos)

*10. Will there be set changes this year?*
Yes, apparently some big ones.

“There’s some elements that we’re developing right now that will literally blow everyone’s mind with what we’re doing with the set, when it comes out in the fall, that no other network show has done before,” Plestis said during the June panel. “So I’m really excited that we could push the bar here in Season 4.”

See below for your first look at Season 4’s contestants.

*Also Read:* 'Masked Singer' Season 4 Costumes: Here's Your First Look at Squiggly Monster, Jellyfish and More (Photos)

*Broccoli:**Gremlin:**Mushroom:**Giraffe:**Snow Owls:**Whatchamacallit:**Dragon:**Jellyfish:**Sun:**Squiggly Monster:**Lips:**Popcorn:**Crocodile:**Related stories from TheWrap:*

'The Masked Singer' Begins Production on Season 4, Adds Fan Voting

Mexican Version of 'The Masked Singer' to Premiere in August on Univision

Nick Cannon to Remain Fox's 'Masked Singer' Host After His Apology for Anti-Semitic Comments

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