Now it can be revealed: Viewers will see a dancing flamingo on Wednesday’s episode of “The Masked Singer.”
TV’s most outrageous hit (8 p.m. on Fox) shows no sign of slowing down after making a splash last year, with last week’s Season 2 opener snaring nearly 8 million viewers.
“We knew there was going to be something about it that was special, but to be honest, how big of a hit [it’s been] is a wonderful shock to the system,” says executive producer Craig Plestis, who revealed exclusively that this week’s costumed singers will be Flamingo, Panda, Leopard and Black Widow, all making their “Masked Singer” debuts.
The mystery stars in the Flamingo and Panda costumes will face off against each other, while Black Widow will compete against Leopard for the judges’ favor. One of them will be unmasked at the end of the hour.
Each week on “The Masked Singer,” celebrities in outrageous costumes serenade a studio audience and a panel of judges including Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke. Clues are provided about each star’s identity with masked singers eliminated in each round.
(T-Pain, aka Monster, was “Masked’s” first winner — with 11.4 million viewers tuning in to the season finale.)
Thanks to the success of its first season — a midseason entry that averaged 8 million viewers — Plestis says many stars have asked to appear on the show.
“There are a number of people that actually approached us and wanted to be involved,” he says. “There’s a couple people in [this week’s episode] that 100% approached us. There’s one [celebrity] in particular who said they wanted to do the show, and I’m still shocked.
“We’re quite honored.”
Plestis says Flamingo will sing a Jonas Brothers song on Wednesday night’s episode.
“If the Jonas Brothers are out there watching the show next week, I’d say, ‘Guys, listen in to the pink flamingo’s version of one of [your] songs,’ ” he says. “It’s going to rock them.”
Plestis wouldn’t comment on his favorite costume (“I consider them all my children”), but says Flamingo “reminds me a little bit of Monster that we had last season. I love Black Widow because we’ve never had anything like that … a dark creature.
“I also love the detail of Leopard,” he says. “It took a long time to make. We went through a couple different masks to make sure there was no echo. Everyone sings live, so we go through many tests with the masks, and that one we really had to deal with because it’s so form-fitting [that] it would effect the sound quality.”
Plestis says that only a few producers have contact with the celebrities; code names are used the entire time to ensure secrecy, and the stars don masks before being driven to set and constantly switch drivers.
“Secrecy is still paramount for us,” he says, attributing the show’s popularity to its generation-spanning guessing game.
“There’s tons of shows you can watch on the other networks, but this is the only one where you can sit on the couch with your family and engage in and debate who’s under the mask,” he says. “I saw a tweet from a mother who said, ‘This is the only show I’ve been able to watch with my teenager.’
“In the world where everything is separated into different pockets, this is the one time people can come together and guess together.”