Rudy Giuliani wasn’t enough for The Masked Singer. The gonzo singing competition series will expand their controversial celebrity cast to a more global selection pool in a brand new series, One World, One Masked Singer. After cherry picking the worst of the worst from the U.S. political landscape, it’s time to go bigger: we’re talking corrupt leaders worldwide, now.
Perhaps inspired by Eurovision, or maybe just brought on by the need for chaos at all times possible, this international competition will include celebrities from various local editions of the show from around the globe. The winner will be titled “The Global Masked Singer Champion,” an accomplishment that will surely rank alongside Olympic medallions, Nobel Peace Prizes, and the like.
The Masked Singer originated in South Korea in 2015 as King of Masked Singer. Craig Plestis, who will serve as the creator and executive producer of One World, One Masked Singer, acquired the U.S. rights for the show in 2017, and the rest is history.
“This project has been a dream of mine since I realized that ‘The Masked Singer’ was going to be a global phenomenon following the success of the format in the U.S.,” Plestis told Variety. “It is now in more than 56 countries, and I cannot wait to gather together delegates from each and every one, in brand new costumes, for an epic competition series to air across the planet in each Masked Singer territory.”
While it’s no doubt that The Masked Singer has soared to the top of the cultural zeitgeist, the actual reception is consistently critical. Most recently, Rudy Giuliani’s participation in the show caused ratings to plummet and host Ken Jeong to march off stage, an act of protest celebrated by most of the show’s fans.
This recent atrocity isn’t the first time The Masked Singer has raised doubts from its fans. The show has also brought in Sarah Palin, Logan Paul, and Caitlyn Jenner—and that’s just on the U.S. installation of the series. It’s not like these controversial moments are a big win for the franchise, either: as stated above, Rudy Giuliani’s appearance cost the series its lowest ratings of the season. What’s the point?
The new series has yet to announce hosts for the show, participating countries, and network partners—nor any of the contestants, but that’s a given, seeing as their identity is usually kept a secret. (This wasn’t the case for Rudy Giuliani.) Outside of the U.S., The Masked Singer has soared to the top of ratings in the Netherlands, Germany, and Spain, with recent editions including France and Mexico.
Surely, there will be more wild Masked Singer updates as the current season continues to unfold, and more to come on this new saga of madness, so keep checking back for more. You never know who could be the next contestant—Twitter CEO Elon Musk? Wouldn’t put it past The Masked Singer casting coordinators.
