The Masked Singer: Channel 10 reacts to big rumour about Season 2
The Masked Singer has generated plenty of headlines, but now Channel 10 has hit out at some of the rumours and set the record straight.
Channel 10 has shut down a big rumour about The Masked Singer.
There have been reports in recent days that Lindsay Lohan won’t be returning as one of the judges for season two of the show.
Despite adding some much needed star power to the program, fans have been scratching their heads as to why Lohan was cast in the first place, given her knowledge of Aussie celebrities is limited.
But Channel 10’s chief content officer told news.com.au today that The Mean Girls star would be back on The Masked Singer next year.
“Despite what you may have read, we will have exactly the same judging line-up and exactly the same host,” Beverley McGarvey said.
RELATED: Adam Brand reveals Masked Singer episode was nightmare to film
“We’re thrilled that they’re all coming back and you know how these things work, the more that people get familiar with each other and familiar with everything it just gets better and better because they get more comfortable. The potential upside for us next year is really exciting.”
The Masked Singer has been a hit for Channel 10 but ratings have dipped a little recently with both of this week’s episodes being beaten by The Block.
Some have speculated viewers are dropping off due to the calibre of celebrities who have been unmasked so far.
Last night's ratings: a Tuesday night The Block on 897,000 beats The Masked Singer on 877,000. Has the novelty slightly worn off for Masked Singer? Or is it the lack of household names under the masks so far that have people tapping out?
— cameron adams (@cameron_adams) October 8, 2019
Ratings for @maskedsinger_au are down. Is it because the 'celebs' have been... ahhh, how shall we say... underwhelming?
— Robert McKnight (@rob_mcknight) October 8, 2019
Despite the criticisms, McGarvey told news.com.au the masked singers would be of a similar level of fame in season two.
“The calibre of people we’ve got this year is probably where we’ll go,” she said. “We spent a bit of time looking at the Fox version and talking to our colleagues in other markets and really what is important is when the masks come off, that you are impressed by something. Either you have to go, ‘Wow, I didn’t think that person would do that’, or, ‘I didn’t know they could sing’.
“Having watched, for example, a super, super famous person who can’t sing, it’s kinda just annoying because someone singing badly in an outfit is really just someone singing badly.
“I think that the ambition for us next year would be to cast it differently so that we were surprising people in different ways and that might be that some of them are more famous or some of them are from completely different industries.”
MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA
Channel 10 has finally revealed who the new MasterChef judges are and it’s likely you’ve never heard of them.
The network announced today that Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen will replace George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston for the show’s 12th season which will air next year.
RELATED: Who exactly are the three new MasterChef judges?
Zonfrillo was named Australia’s Hottest Chef in 2018 and has hosted television shows including Nomad Chef, Restaurant Revolution and Chef Exchange.
Leong is an accomplished food and travel writer, food media consultant, radio broadcaster, television presenter, MC and cookbook editor. And even she seemed shocked to have landed the MasterChef gig.
“It came as a huge surprise for me, and is, without a doubt the opportunity of a lifetime,” she said in a statement. “I am really looking forward to getting stuck in.”
MasterChef fans will perhaps remember Andy Allen who won season four of the cooking show.
During her interview with news.com.au, McGarvey also confirmed which other Channel 10 shows would be returning in 2020 and which show has been dropped.
WHAT WILL BE RETURNING IN 2020
Australian Survivor: There’ll be not one but two seasons of Australian Survivor in 2020.
“The first one is All Stars which is really exciting,” McGarvey told news.com.au. “We have been dying to make one but you need a certain number of contestants. We now have 100 ex-contestants to choose from so All Stars should be spectacular because these are people who have played the game before so they play a big game.”
Survivor: All Stars will kick off in February and you can expect to see past contestants including: Phoebe Timmins (season one), Brooke Jowett (season one), Nick Iadanza (season one), Felicity Egginton (Season one), Henry Nicholson (season two), Mat Rogers (Champions V Contenders, season three), David Genat (Champions V Contenders, season four) and Mark “Tarzan” Herlaar (season two).
In terms of the second season of Survivor in 2020, McGarvey said: “We’re not going to announce what the theme is until after All Stars has launched, but regular people can apply.”
And, yes, hunky host Jonathan LaPaglia will be back for both seasons. Phew.
Also returning to Channel 10 in 2020:
• Dancing With The Stars
• Have You Been Paying Attention?
• Gogglebox
• The Bachelor Australia
• Bachelor In Paradise
• The Bachelorette Australia
• The Project
• I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!
• Hughesy, We Have A Problem
• Kinne Tonight
• Five Bedrooms
• Celebrity Name Game
• Playing For Keeps
• How To Stay Married
• The Living Room
• Ambulance Australia
• Todd Sampson’s BodyHack
• Bondi Rescue
• Drunk History (from Pilot Week 2018)
• Trial By Kyle (season one starts October 24).
WHAT WON’T BE RETURNING IN 2020
Sunday Night Takeaway: Chris Brown and Julia Morris’s variety show has been dropped by Channel 10 with McGarvey telling news.com.au: “We don’t have any plans to bring it back in 2020 at this stage.”
The show struggled this year up against Married At First Sight (Channel 9) and My Kitchen Rules (Channel 7), with the season finale pulling in a dismal 254,000 viewers (five city metro).
NEW SHOWS IN 2020
The Secrets She Keeps: This six-part psychological thriller is based on Michael Robotham’s best-selling novel and will star Laura Carmichael, Jessica De Gouw, Michael Dorman and Ryan Corr. Set in Sydney and the Blue Mountains, it’s about two women from vastly different backgrounds both with explosive secrets that could destroy everything they hold dear.
FBI: Most Wanted: This American crime drama is a spin-off from FBI and will star Aussie Julian McMahon.
The Gilded Age: This TV drama has been described as a cross between Downton Abbey and Gossip Girl. Set in New York City in the 1880s, it will star Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon.
SPORT IN 2020
Next year Channel 10 will air the Melbourne Cup Carnival, the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix and the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
Other sport that will be seen on the network includes Supercars, rugby (including the Bledisloe Cup) and the MotoGP World Championship.
PILOT WEEK 2020
For the third year in a row, Channel 10 will be giving a handful of shows the chance to be commissioned for a full series with its Pilot Week experiment.
It hasn’t yet been revealed which (if any) of the four Pilot Week shows that aired this year will be green lit for a full series.
The frontrunner is Roxy Jacenko’s reality show I Am … Roxy!, which was the highest rated show from both 2018 and 2019’s Pilot Weeks with 399,000 viewers (five city metro).
What do you think of Channel 10’s line-up of shows for 2020? Comment below
Today show’s shock week of ratings
After months of consistently low ratings and trouble catching up with powerhouse Sunrise, the Today show has finally experienced a win.
Nine boss addresses Today failure
Karl Stefanovic’s return to Today hasn’t helped the flailing show’s fortunes, with even more viewers deserting the seemingly sinking ship.
Big blow for MKR as ratings nosedive
My Kitchen Rules: The Rivals has been struggling in the ratings all season, and now the cooking show has been dealt another blow.