Thursday, January 3, 2019

On The Air: The Masked Singer (2019)

Based on a Korean talent show, Fox's newest entry, The Masked Singer, is a guilty pleasure.

Twelve famous people don full-length costumes and masks in this three month excursion into insanity. Nick Cannon (Wild 'N' Out, America's Got Talent, ex-All That) serves as host. The judges doubling as aspiring sleuths are singers Robin Thicke & Nicole Scherzinger, actor-comic Ken Jeong (ex-Dr. Ken), and comedienne-activist Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg.

Opening night saw players dressed as a Lion, a Unicorn, a Monster, and a Hippo, among others. Voices are, of course, electronically disguised in interviews. Six more aspirants debut next week. I have to admit, having a fondness for mysteries myself, I was fooled by this week's reveal just as the judges were, though I keyed on one of the clues, even if they didn't.

Check out the trailer:



Among the guesses were former NBA star Allen Iverson and former two-sport standout (and current NFL Network analyst) Deion Sanders, both of whom have some recording history. Ye scribe, sitting at home, took a swing at another two-sport star, Mookie Betts of the World Series champion Boston Red Sox, who has moonlighted in bowling in recent years. We were all wrong.

The Hippo, you see, was Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who's currently on the outs with his team, and could follow LeVeon Bell out the door after the season. Brown, of course, has local ties, too, since his father, "Touchdown" Eddie Brown, was a superstar with the Albany Firebirds in Arena Football back in the day.

Now I've got something to fill my Wednesday nights until Spring.

Rating: A-.

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