The Masked Singer: the new format and segments of season 8 explained

The outlandish costumes are back but for Season 8 of The Masked Singer judges and viewers are “going to guess like [they’ve] never guessed before.” According to executive producer Craig Plestis the new format for the show “brings a whole new life and a whole new aspect” to the popular music reality competition.

Every episode will include double unmaskings in what’s being called a “King and Queen of The Masked Singer”-style competition with sudden eliminations.

How the “King and Queen of The Masked Singer” format works

Plestis explained to Entertainment Weekly that the new format will involve three rounds of three episodes each, resulting in three finalists for the semifinals. It’ll vary but there will be “roughly between four to three singers in each episode,” he said.

One of the famous contestants will eliminated quickly in the middle of the show. The audience will vote for their favorite singer and the one who garners the fewest votes will be out of the competition and unmasked then and there. They’ll then join the audience to watch the two remaining singers continue in a ‘Battle Royale’. The loser of each episode’s final competition will also be unmasked so viewers won’t have to wait five weeks to find out who’s been singing.

The winner will go on to compete in the next episode against new challengers which the producer says makes it “so exciting because you’ll see, will someone go and sweep all three episodes to go into the semifinals, or will each episode get a brand new king or queen?” The change is “really thrilling” says Plestis and will bring a lot of energy to the show.

The clues will tie into the “theme” of each episode

First impression guesses and Golden Ear Trophy competition among the judges won’t be a part of Season 8 but the clue packages are returning. Each episode will have new costumes along with a theme that will help viewers play the guessing game. “We’ve upped the ante a little bit with these themes to make it easier for the home audience to play along,” Plestis said.

“This season is all about everyone playing the game, because somebody can enter [the show] that night, they can get unmasked that night.”

Guest stars on The Masked Singer Season 8

Nicole Scherzinger, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, and Robin Thicke are back as panelists. The in-studio audience, which now consists of over 400 members, will be treated to appearances by numerous guest stars. These include Andrew Lloyd Webber, Blue Man Group, Carrot Top, Danielle Fishel, Donny Osmond, Drew Carey, Jodie Sweetin, Joel McHale, Jon Lovitz, Lance Bass, Leslie Jordan, Sheila E Tori Spelling, Will Arnett and The Muppets. There are even rumors that Tom Brady may make an appearance.