The Masked Singer did what no other reality show could
On paper, a show about celebrities singing in intricate costumes shouldn’t have captured the nation. And yet, that’s exactly what The Masked Singer did. Here’s why, writes Cameron Adams.
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Now that it’s over, we need to talk about the success of The Masked Singer.
It finished on Monday night with over 1.3 million people watching Cody Simpson win, well, nothing except a whole lot of publicity, which ironically he already has thanks to his new and very public relationship with Miley Cyrus.
Unlike so many other reality TV shows, what made the Masked Singer so incredibly successful was not a singular thing. Where The Block offers us borderline bogans under immense stress for 12 weeks, the Bachelor provides judging women looking for love and Instagram likes, and Australian Survivor shows brutal physical challenge after brutal physical challenge, there was a multitude of elements that ultimately made The Masked Singer the runaway success it became.
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To begin with, people like trying to guess who disguised celebrities on celebrity reality TV are. It’s simple, but we like a surprise and a reveal.
Ask any reality TV aficionado and they’ll tell you that the best bit of I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! are the initial shots in episode one where you see which famous or famous-ish person will soon be necking a buffalo’s testicle smoothie. The brilliance of The Masked Singer was that they kept that episode one feeling going all the way through the entirety of its season. Even if there weren’t too many surprises as to which celebrities were under the masks by the finale, people still tuned in, proving the show is more than just a guessing game.
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And unlike shows like The Block, which take a week’s worth of episodes to show viewers the money, every single episode of The Masked Singer offered a reveal. In other words, viewers weren’t being shamelessly milked and bombarded with product placements while nothing really happened. Instead, people stuck around because they knew there was going to be a pay-off. We all have shorter attention spans these days and The Masked Singer tapped into that.
Admittedly, it’s hard to imagine how studio execs convinced local household names to sing in front of a live studio audience while wearing an intricate costume in the hope that Lindsay Lohan would identify them, but somehow they did. And success talks.
Now Channel 10 can now aim higher for season two. Remember those rumours about David Hasselhoff and James Cordon coming here to mask up? Maybe they won’t be rumours next year, which, again, is likely to bring back season one viewers and then some.
Which brings us to Lindsay Lohan, the true masterstroke of the show.
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In casting Lohan as a judge, Channel 10 ensured what everyone knew would happen, happened. Other than Simpson, who previously dated her younger sister, Lohan didn’t know a soul. While judges Danni Mingoue, Jackie O and Dave Hughes were guessing locally, Lohan was throwing out names like Beyonce, Sia, Usher, Stevie Nicks and Lewis Hamilton. And Australian audiences loved it. Give us an unpredictable “what the hell am I doing here” judge over the played out bitchy, nasty local any day.
Post Married At First Sight, people have gravitated to feel-good, family TV. And The Masked Singer made the most of its 7.30pm timeslot. Everyone from grandkids to grandparents were watching. The colour and movement of the costumes kept young kids entertained, there was a mix of songs to cross demographics and perhaps most uniquely, it was a safe space for celebrities.
No one was asking them about their religious beliefs or scandals or sexual escapades. Those things may have been alluded to in the clues, and they may have been on the show for some kind of career redemption and/or profile boost, but because we did’t know who they were until the last minute, they couldn’t be judged on anything but their talent.
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Most reality TV is full of people so thirsty for fame they’ll do whatever the producers want. ‘Need a villain? Point out who to throw under the bus. But make sure you get my new lips because I got them for free and need to plug them on Instagram.’ The desperation is palpable. The Masked Singer, however, flipped that idea on its head because the participants are literally basking in anonymity and getting to disguise their fame.
That fact that viewers weren’t required to vote via dubious apps or websites that demand you create a profile so your data can be on-sold and that you weren’t relentlessly being sold anything or preached to about charity made it simply feel good TV.
In being the lone reality television show that was essentially the antithesis of all other current reality TV shows, The Masked Singer triumphed. Which is why so many of us are now counting down to the premiere of season 2.
Originally published as The Masked Singer did what no other reality show could