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The Masked Singer (German TV series)

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The Masked Singer
GenreReality television
Game show
Based onMasked Singer
by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
Presented byMatthias Opdenhövel
Starring
Opening theme"Who Are You" by The Who
Country of originGermany
Original languageGerman
No. of seasons10
No. of episodes60
Production
Production locationsMMC Studios, Cologne
Running timeapprox. 180 to 200 minutes per episode
(including commercials)
Production companyEndemolShine Germany
Original release
NetworkProSieben
Release27 June 2019 (2019-06-27) –
present
Related

The Masked Singer is a German reality singing competition television series that premiered on ProSieben on 27 June 2019. It is part of the Masked Singer franchise which began in South Korea and features celebrities singing songs while wearing head-to-toe costumes and face masks concealing their identities. Hosted by Matthias Opdenhövel, the program employs panelists who guess the celebrities' identities by interpreting clues provided to them throughout each season. Since the tenth season, Palina Rojinski and Rea Garvey are the main panelists. Other panelists from previous seasons include Collien Ulmen-Fernandes, Max Giesinger, Bülent Ceylan, Sonja Zietlow, Álvaro Soler, Ruth Moschner and Rick Kavanian. The audience vote for their favorite singer after all perform. The least popular is eliminated, taking off their mask to reveal their identity.[1][2]

Production

The broadcast format started in South Korea in 2015 as King of Mask Singer. After further offshoots in Asia and the United States in January 2019, the show was announced in March 2019 to begin in Germany and made its debut in June 2019 on ProSieben.[3] On 24 April 2020, ProSieben announced the third season, which began airing on 20 October 2020.[4] The fourth season, which was announced shortly after, began airing on 16 February 2021.[5][6] The fifth season was announced on 18 March 2021 and began airing on 16 October 2021.[7]

During the fifth season, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a sixth season, which premiered on 19 March 2022. On the second episode of the sixth season, Matthias Opdenhövel announced the seventh season of the show, which premiered on 1 October 2022.

Format

In each live episode, celebrities such as singers, actors or athletes compete against each other in a singing competition anonymously in costumes. The voices of the celebrities are distorted beyond recognition outside of singing.

In the first season, viewers voted by Televoting after each Duel or Truel, since the second season voting took place exclusively via the ProSieben-app.[8] The winners may keep the mask on and participate in the next episode. With repeated or without repeated singing, the losers have to wait for the final vote of the respective show. The singer with the fewest votes has to take off his or her mask and leave the show. The others continue to participate.

In seasons 1 and 3, in the final of the last five there was a vote after the vocal performances, after which the person with the fewest votes was eliminated and unmasked. This was followed by two semi-final duels, the losers of which had to reveal themselves and the winners of which competed in the final duel. Finally, their identity was also revealed. In season 2 and since season 4, there is a final four. After each round of performing, one contestant has to leave and take off his or her mask. After the final duel, the winner of the season is revealed. In season 10, there were only three contestants in the final. After the first round the first mask fell. The last two contestants competed in the second and the third round.

In the second season, contestant Angelo Kelly left the competition voluntarily in episode 3 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to the singing competition, hints to each masked singer's identity are offered during the show. Pre-taped interviews are given as hints and feature celebrities' distorted voices. The panelists are given time to speculate the identity of the singer after the performance and ask them a single question to try to determine their identity.

The opening theme is "Who Are You" by The Who.

After each appearance, the two panelist members – three during the first season – and a guest member of the advice team who changes from episode to episode express their guess as to who is under the mask. The panelist team also asks a question to almost every singer, who only answers vaguely or evasively. Before making any decision, the panelist team makes an assumption after the voting has ended, for whom it will be tight or who will be eliminated. Before unmasking, the celebrities are once more asked to give their final guess about who is beneath the mask.

Security

The words "don't talk to me!" in capitalized white text on a black background
The front of hoodies celebrities wear while off camera.

The show has an 'extreme security protocol' in effect both during and after filming to protect the celebrity's identities from leaking. Everyone involved in the show signed a non-disclosure agreement which prevented anyone from revealing any information about the shooting dates, costumes or identities of the masks episode until its broadcast. The celebrities who appear on the show are only allowed to inform their spouse about their participation, who must also sign one.

Due to the show's security, celebrities said they never encountered another masked participant on set, or if they did, could not speak to them. They are only allowed to communicate with those who wear a special cloth on the back of their clothing which is changed each season to prevent replication or those who wear a shirt with the words "Talk to Me". To do so, they use a portable voice changer or write on a whiteboard.

Costumes

The costumes worn by the celebrity contestants were designed by Marina Toybina, a four-time Emmy Award winner and by Alexandra Brander. Each costume costs on average between 15,000 and 20,000 Euros and takes around 300 hours of manual labor.[9]

Filming

MMC Studios, the filming location of the show.

Filming of the show took place at MMC Studios in Cologne. The Masked Singer Austria and The Masked Singer Switzerland are produced in the same studio as the German version.[10]

On 12 March 2020 in the second season of the show, ProSieben announced that, as a precautionary measure against the spread of the coronavirus, all shows, including The Masked Singer, would be producing without a studio audience until further notice.[11] On 29 March 2020, ProSieben announced that it would interrupt the show due to two COVID-19 infections within the team and the show continued from 14 April 2020.[12]

ProSieben announced that the third season of the show, would be again produced with audience. On 30 October 2020, after the second episode, ProSieben announced that it would once again be producing without a studio audience until further notice.[13]

The fourth season, produced again without audience.

After a year and a half of a pandemic-related break, the fifth season was seen a live audience in the studio for the first time.[14]

Panelists and host

Current season panelists and host
Palina Rojinski
Rea Garvey
Matthias Opdenhövel

Since the first season, host of the show is Matthias Opdenhövel.[15] In the first two seasons, the permanent panel has consisted of TV presenter Ruth Moschner. In the first season, the other two panelists were actor Collien Ulmen-Fernandes and singer Max Giesinger.[16] In the second season, singer Rea Garvey, replaced Ulmen-Fernandes and Giesinger.[17] In the third season the panelists included comedian Bülent Ceylan and TV presenter Sonja Zietlow.[18] In the fourth season, Moschner and Garvey returned to the panel.[19] The fifth season, Moschner was her fourth time and Garvey was his third time, as the main panelists.[20][21] Also in the sixth season, Moschner and Garvey were the main panelists.[22] Thore Schölermann acted as guest host for the first episode of the sixth season after Opdenhövel tested positive for COVID-19.[23] In the seventh season, Moschner was only the main panelist and in the eighth season, Garvey returned as main panelist alongside Moschner. In the ninth season, Moschner returned as main panelist, with Álvaro Soler (episodes 1-3) and Rick Kavanian (episodes 4-6) as new main panelists, replacing Garvey.[24][25] In the tenth season, Kavanian returned as main panelist, with new member Palina Rojinski.[26] Rojinski returned for the eleventh season, with Garvey returning after a two season hiatus.[27]

Cast timeline
Cast Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Host
Matthias Opdenhövel Main
Thore Schölermann Does not appear Mask Does not appear Guest Does not appear
Panelists
Ruth Moschner Main Guest Main Does not appear
Collien Ulmen-Fernandes Main Does not appear
Max Giesinger Main Does not appear Guest Does not appear
Rea Garvey Guest Main Guest Main Guest Main Guest Does not appear Main
Bülent Ceylan Mask Guest Main Does not appear
Sonja Zietlow Does not appear Mask Main Does not appear
Álvaro Soler Does not appear Guest Does not appear Main Does not appear
Rick Kavanian Does not appear Mask Guest Main Does not appear
Palina Rojinski Does not appear Main

Series overview

Series overview
SeriesContestantsEpisodesOriginally airedWinnerRunner-upThird place
First airedLast aired
110627 June 2019 (2019-06-27)1 August 2019 (2019-08-01)Max Mutzke
as "Astronaut"		Gil Ofarim
as "Grashüpfer"		Bülent Ceylan
as "Engel"
210610 March 2020 (2020-03-10)28 April 2020 (2020-04-28)Tom Beck
as "Faultier"		Mike Singer
as "Wuschel"		Gregor Meyle
as "Drache"
310+1620 October 2020 (2020-10-20)24 November 2020 (2020-11-24)Sarah Lombardi
as "Skelett"		Alec Völkel
as "Alien"		Nelson Müller
as "Nilpferd"
410616 February 2021 (2021-02-16)23 March 2021 (2021-03-23)Sasha
as "Dinosaurier"		Cassandra Steen
as "Leopard"		Ross Antony
as "Flamingo"
510616 October 2021 (2021-10-16)20 November 2021 (2021-11-20)Alexander Klaws
as "Mülli Müller"		Sandy Mölling
as "Raupe"		Christina Stürmer
as "Heldin"
610619 March 2022 (2022-03-19)23 April 2022 (2022-04-23)Ella Endlich
as "Zebra"		Mark Keller
as "Dornteufel"		Jeanette Biedermann
as "Discokugel"
7961 October 2022 (2022-10-01)5 November 2022 (2022-11-05)Daniel Donskoy
as "Maulwurf"		Bürger Lars Dietrich
as "Werwolf"		Rick Kavanian
as "Rosty"
8961 April 2023 (2023-04-01)6 May 2023 (2023-05-06)Luca Hänni
as "Schuhschnabel"		Felicitas Woll
as "Igel"		Patricia Kelly
as "Mystica"
99618 November 2023 (2023-11-18)23 December 2023 (2023-12-23)Jennifer Weist
as "Eisprinzessin"		Pasquale Aleardi
as "Lulatsch"		Hendrik Duryn
as "Mustang"
108+1+666 April 2024 (2024-04-06)18 May 2024 (2024-05-18)Mirja Boes
as "Floh"		Heiko Lochmann & Roman Lochmann
as "Flip Flops"		Sebastian Krumbiegel
as "Krokodil"
1110623 November 2024 (2024-11-23)21 December 2024 (2024-12-21)TBA
as "TBA"		TBA
as "TBA"		TBA
as "Qualle"

Reception

Television ratings

The finale of season 1 broke records for the highest market shares of all time for a ProSieben show format in the 14–49 age group in Germany and in the age group 12 to 49 in Austria.[28][29] The final of the second season, achieved the highest audience rating of a ProSieben show to date.[30] The fifth season of the show was broadcast for the first time on Saturdays, which accommodated a wish of the audience.[31]

Season Time slot No. of
episodes 		Premiered Ended TV season Viewers
(in millions)
Date Viewers
(in millions) 		Date Viewers
(in millions)
1 Thursdays 8:15 pm 6 27 June 2019 2.19[32] 1 August 2019 4.34[33] 2018–2019 3.15[34]
2 Tuesdays 8:15 pm 6 10 March 2020 3.32[35] 28 April 2020 5.34[36] 2019–2020 4.15[37]
3 6 20 October 2020 3.33[38] 24 November 2020 3.65[39] 2020–2021 3.33
4 6 16 February 2021 3.55[40] 23 March 2021 3.75[41] 3.42
5 Saturdays 8:15 pm 6 16 October 2021 2.96[42] 20 November 2021 3.25[43] 2021–2022 2.83
6 6 19 March 2022 2.46[44] 23 April 2022 2.48[45] 2.24
7 6 1 October 2022 2.42[46] 5 November 2022 2.29[47] 2022–2023 2.17
8 6 1 April 2023 2.19[48] 6 May 2023 2.00 3.15
9 6 18 November 2023 1.79[49] 23 December 2023 1.68[50] 2023–2024 1.64
10 6 6 April 2024 1.46[51] 18 May 2024 1.38[52] 1.31

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref
2020 Deutscher Fernsehpreis Best Entertainment Show The Masked Singer Won [53]
Best Director Entertainment Mark Achterberg Nominated
Best Framing Entertainment Alexandra Brandner (Costume Design) Won

The Masked Singer – red. Special

The Masked Singer – red. Special is the companion show presented by the presenters of the show red. Annemarie Carpendale, Viviane Geppert and Rebecca Mir. The show it is shown on ProSieben immediately after the main show. The show features interviews with the panelists and the unmasked celebrity from that episode.

red. – The Masked Singer Countdown

In the first three seasons, a spin-off with the name red. – The Masked Singer Countdown, which was presented by Annemarie Carpendale, it was shown on ProSieben, which aired only for 15 Minutes before the final episode. The show features interviews with the panelists and the presenter of the main show, Matthias Opdenhövel.

Only in the second season, Viviane Geppert hosted the show, which was aired before the premiere of the first live show.

The Masked Singer – So hat alles angefangen

The Masked Singer – So hat alles angefangen (That's how it all started) is a show that aired on 31 December 2020 on ProSieben and showed how The Masked Singer began in Germany. The best performances of the celebrity contestants and the best and funniest moments from the first season, were shown once again. Also, the celebrities from the first season, presenter Matthias Opdenhövel and panelist Ruth Moschner spoke about their personal experiences with the show.[54]

The Masked Singer – Die rätselhafte Weihnachtsshow

On 26 October 2021, it was announced by ProSieben, they would broadcast a Christmas special for the first time in December, with the name The Masked Singer – Die rätselhafte Weihnachtsshow (The Masked Singer – The enigmatic Christmas show).[55] It took place on 26 December 2021. As part of this there were three new masks. The presenter of the Christmas special is Matthias Opdenhövel.[56][57] The panel consists of TV presenter Ruth Moschner, singer Rea Garvey and actress Andrea Sawatzki.[58]

Contestants

On the final episode of the fifth season, Rentier "Reindeer" was announced as the first contestant. On 14 December, further competitors Gans "Goose" and Geschenk "Present" were revealed.[59]

Results
Stage name Celebrity Notability Episode
1
A B
Gans "Goose" Yvonne Catterfeld Singer SAFE WINNER
Geschenk "Present" Mickie Krause Singer SAFE RUNNER-UP
Rentier "Reindeer" Steven Gätjen Presenter THIRD
  The masked singer was safe from elimination.

hristmas episode (26 December)

Round One
Performances on the Christmas episode – round one
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Gans "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" by J. Fred Coots undisclosed SAFE
2 Rentier "Fröhliche Weihnacht überall" Steven Gätjen THIRD
3 Geschenk "Ave Maria" by Johann Sebastian Bach/"Jingle Bells" by Frank Sinatra undisclosed SAFE
Round Two
Performances on the Christmas episode – round one
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Gans "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane Yvonne Catterfeld WINNER
2 Geschenk "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds Mickie Krause RUNNER-UP

Ratings

Episode Original airdate Timeslot Viewers
(in millions) 		Share
(in %) 		Source
Household Adults 14–49 Household Adults 14–49
Christmas special 26 December 2021 (2021-12-26) Sunday 8:15 pm 1.92 0.96 6.5 12.7 [60]

The Masked Dancer

Main article: The Masked Dancer (German TV series)

In June 2021, EndemolShine Germany announced a dancing spinoff series that shares the same name of the American version.[61] In November 2021, it was announced that ProSieben would broadcast the show.[62] The show began airing on 6 January 2022, with Opdenhövel hosting the show and with Alexander Klaws and Steven Gätjen serving as panelists. The show had 7 contestants competing through four live episodes.[63]

Notes

References

  1. ^ "PROSIEBEN SICHERT SICH DEN SHOW-HIT "THE MASKED SINGER"".
  2. ^ "THE MASKED SINGER AB DEM 27. JUNI 2019".
  3. ^ "ProSieben bestätigt: "The Masked Singer" kommt nach Deutschland".
  4. ^ ""THE MASKED SINGER": IM HERBST 2020 STARTET STAFFEL 3".
  5. ^ ""THE MASKED SINGER": IM FRÜHJAHR 2021 STARTET STAFFEL 4". 21 January 2021.
  6. ^ ""THE MASKED SINGER" – SENDESTART STAFFEL 4: DAS BESTE, VERRÜCKTESTE TV-RÄTSEL DES JAHRES LÄUFT AB 16. FEBRUAR 2021 AUF PROSIEBEN". 14 September 2021.
  7. ^ ""THE MASKED SINGER" 2021: STAFFEL 5 KOMMT IM HERBST".
  8. ^ "Neu. Die Zuschauer entscheiden bei "The Masked Singer" nur via App".
  9. ^ ""THE MASKED SINGER" – DAS INTERVIEW MIT DER KOSTÜMBILDNERIN". 4 July 2019.
  10. ^ ""The Masked Singer" ab heute auch in der Schweiz: So sehen die Masken aus".
  11. ^ "Auch Pro7 verzichtet wegen Coronavirus komplett auf Showpublikum".
  12. ^ "Prosieben pausiert mit Show "The Masked Singer" bis Mitte April".
  13. ^ ""THE MASKED SINGER" 2020 STAFFEL 3: SEVEN.ONE ENTERTAINMENT GROUP PRODUZIERT SHOWS BIS AUF WEITERES OHNE PUBLIKUM". 30 October 2020.
  14. ^ ""The Masked Singer" Was man zur neuen Staffel wissen muss". 14 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Matthias Opdenhövel moderiert die neue ProSieben-Show „The Masked Singer"" (in German).
  16. ^ "„The Masked Singer": Das Rateteam steht fest!" (in German).
  17. ^ "Ruth Moschner und Rea Garvey rätseln mit den Zuschauern bei „The Masked Singer"" (in German).
  18. ^ "„The Masked Singer" 2020 Herbst Staffel 3: Das sind die neuen Mitglieder im Rateteam" (in German). 15 September 2021.
  19. ^ "„The Masked Singer" 2021: Das ist das Rateteam in Staffel 4" (in German).
  20. ^ "„The Masked Singer" 2021: Ruth Moschner sitzt im Rateteam von Staffel 5" (in German). 21 June 2022.
  21. ^ "„The Masked Singer" 2021: Rea Garvey ist wieder Teil des Rateteams" (in German). 30 October 2022.
  22. ^ "„The Masked Singer" 2022: Das ist das Rateteam der 6. Staffel" (in German). 21 October 2022.
  23. ^ "„The Masked Singer" 2022: Deswegen moderiert Thore Schölermann statt Matthias Opdenhövel in Folge 1" (in German).
  24. ^ "Geheimnis gelüftet! Das Rateteam der 9. Staffel „The Masked Singer" steht fest" (in German).
  25. ^ "„The Masked Singer" 2023 – Rick Kavanian im Interview: „Wenn die Stars Stress haben, spüre ich das körperlich"" (in German).
  26. ^ "„The Masked Singer": Jubiläumsstaffel mit mehreren Änderungen" (in German). 2 April 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  27. ^ ""The Masked Singer" 2024: Die neue Staffel ist gestartet und das solltest du wissen" (in German).
  28. ^ "Über 50% bei der Enthüllung: "The Masked Singer" beschert ProSieben historische Rekorde". 2 August 2019.
  29. ^ ""Masked Singer" bricht Senderrekord, ORF 1 am Boden".
  30. ^ ""Masked Singer"-Finale: Was uns ProSieben seit Beginn vorenthielt".
  31. ^ ""THE MASKED SINGER" LÄUFT IM HERBST 2021 AN NEUEM TAG". 14 September 2021.
  32. ^ "Mega-Start: "The Masked Singer"-Quoten schießen durch die Decke". 28 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  33. ^ "Primetime-Check: Donnerstag, 1. August 2019". 2 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  34. ^ "Quotencheck: "The Masked Singer"". 2 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  35. ^ "Quoten: "The Masked Singer" macht "Höhle der Löwen" und "WWM" platt". 11 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  36. ^ "Tom Beck macht "The Masked Singer" zur stärksten ProSieben-Show seit 2007; Reichweiten steigen in unbekannte Höhen". 29 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  37. ^ "Quotencheck: "The Masked Singer"". 29 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  38. ^ "Stärkster Staffelauftakt für "The Masked Singer"". 21 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  39. ^ ""The Masked Singer": Finale mit 28,8 Prozent Marktanteil". 25 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  40. ^ "4. Staffel: "The Masked Singer" startet erfolgreich". 17 February 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  41. ^ ""The Masked Singer": Bomben Werte, aber kein neuer Rekord". 24 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  42. ^ "Ist "The Masked Singer" das Ende für RTL?". 17 October 2021.
  43. ^ "Alexander Klaws gewinnt "The Masked Singer"". 21 November 2021.
  44. ^ ""The Masked Singer" startet unter dem Niveau der vorherigen Staffeln". 20 March 2022.
  45. ^ ""The Masked Singer": Das war nur ein Ausrutscher". 24 April 2022.
  46. ^ ""The Masked Singer" ist wieder da!". 2 October 2022.
  47. ^ "Staffel-Rekorde für das "The Masked Singer"-Finale". 6 November 2022.
  48. ^ ""The Masked Singer" kommt, sieht und siegt".
  49. ^ Friedrich, Laura (19 November 2023). "«The Masked Singer» startet deutlich schwächer in die neue Staffel als noch im Frühjahr" (in German). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  50. ^ Friedrich, Laura (24 December 2023). "«The Masked Singer» steigert sich zum Finale" (in German). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  51. ^ Friedrich, Laura (7 April 2024). ""The Masked Singer" auf dem Gesamtmarkt so schwach wie nie zuvor". quotenmeter.de (in German). Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  52. ^ Maier, Felix (18 May 2024). "The Masked Singer endet positiv  : «The Masked Singer» endet positiv". quotenmeter.de (in German). Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  53. ^ "Deutscher Fernsehpreis 2020 für "The Masked Singer", "Der Pass" und "Das Sommerhaus der Stars"".
  54. ^ ""The Masked Singer": ProSieben blickt an Silvester zurück".
  55. ^ ""THE MASKED SINGER – DIE RÄTSELHAFTE WEIHNACHTSSHOW" LÄUFT AM ZWEITEN WEIHNACHTSFEIERTAG AUF PROSIEBEN". 17 March 2022.
  56. ^ "ProSieben plant "The Masked Singer"-Weihnachtsfolge".
  57. ^ ""The Masked Singer" bekommt Weihnachts-Special". 27 October 2021.
  58. ^ ""THE MASKED SINGER – DIE RÄTSELHAFTE WEIHNACHTSSHOW": DIESE SCHAUSPIELERIN SITZT IM RATETEAM". 26 December 2021.
  59. ^ ""THE MASKED SINGER – DIE RÄTSELHAFTE WEIHNACHTSSHOW": DAS SIND DIE MASKEN". 26 December 2021.
  60. ^ ""The Masked Singer"-Special mit weniger als zwei Millionen Zuschauern". 27 December 2021.
  61. ^ ""The Masked Dancer": Endemol will "The Masked Singer"-Ableger nach Deutschland bringen". fernsehserien.de. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  62. ^ ""THE MASKED DANCER" 2022 AUF PROSIEBEN".
  63. ^ ""THE MASKED DANCER" STARTET AM 6. JANUAR 2022 AUF PROSIEBEN".
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