The Masked Singer has been a blast as far back as its first season but, as fun as the ride has been, there have been some mysteries and questions about its process. Fans have speculated about things like how judges go through with their guesses and, until recently, they've been in the dark about what actually is and isn't expected.
Now executive producer Craig Plestis has pulled back the curtain a bit on the process, and demystified some of what goes on in regards to the judges' guessing:
Here's the truth about guesses. They have to do it for real. Only a handful of producers know who people are. The director, the lighting people, the crew, the network — very few people know. We do not tell the panelists. We confiscate their phones. When they go home I'm sure they're Googling like crazy; we ask them not to. But on the set, they don't have that luxury. They have to use their brains. It's real-time information. They have to guess. What you don't see is that they each have a binder. When the cameras aren't on them, they're taking copious notes. They're writing down the clues — they're very competitive and they all want to get it right. Those binders are their bibles. Every day they leave, we put them in a vault.
As some may have expected, The Masked Singer's judges aren't allowed to have google out like the viewers at home. That's probably why their guesses are so bad right out the gate but improve as the weeks go on. As Craig Plestis, said the producers can only ask the team not to hop on the internet to search for clues when they get home, but there's really no way of stopping them from doing so once filming is done for the day.
I think the going home and googling rule was honored in Season 1 but has fallen by the wayside in Season 3. There's no denying the judges have gotten way better at correctly identifying contestants down the stretch and were possibly a little embarrassed to be in the dark for so long in Season 1 when viewers at home had pegged some contestants during the first episode.
With that being said, it's hard not to credit the judging team even if they are googling at home. These pre-recorded seasons mean they're not participating in guessing with the hive-mind fandom. That certainly has to make things a lot more difficult when one isn't able to bounce ideas off the masses, which the judges would be able to do if the episodes were at least taped closer to airings. When asked if Season 4 would have any live episodes, Craig Plestis told TV Guide they were still working out details for the coming season.
The Masked Singer will return to Fox for Season 4, though we have no idea when to expect it. Continue to stick with CinemaBlend for more updates on the show, and for the latest news happening in television and movies.
