12 seasons in and The Masked Singer is still keeping viewers on their toes.
Never keen to just rest on its laurels, the Fox reality competition series is once again finding new ways to innovate and keep viewers engaged as they try to uncover each masked celebrity's identity.
As such, there are several new twists this season to go along with the 15 brand new contestants, but there are some familiar show beats as well. Ahead of the new episodes, Entertainment Weekly is rounding up all of that and everything else we know so far about season 12, below.
The new season starts on Wednesday, Sept. 25 from 8-9 p.m. ET/PT on Fox. Viewers can catch up on the show on Hulu, Fox.com, Tubi, and On Demand. On Demand episodes are available for customers of Cox Contour TV, DIRECTV, DISH, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, Optimum, Spectrum, Verizon FiOS, XFINITY, YouTube TV, and many more.
The panelists and host from season 11 remain unchanged for season 12. British singer-songwriter and The Masked Singer UK panelist Rita Ora is once again stepping in for Nicole Scherzinger. Longtime panelists Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, and Robin Thicke are all returning as well, as is host Nick Cannon. Any potential guest panelists or guest stars have not yet been announced.
For the first time in the show's history, each contestant this season will have a Masked Ambassador -- someone who is an alum of the series who has a connection to that singer, and provides major new clues about their famous friends' identities. Dick Van Dyke (season 9's Gnome), Jewel (season 6's winner Queen of Hearts), Ne-Yo (season 10's winner Cow) and DeMarcus Ware (season 11's Koala) have been confirmed so far. Showrunner Rosie Seitchik didn't want to spoil too much of the fun, but did tease to EW that the ambassadors are "presenting the new singers to us in newfangled clue packages in their premiere episodes. I'll leave it at that for right now. But they're basically being ushered into the season via the endorsement of an old masked singer."
Not exactly. While clue packages are still a thing, in another first for the show, clues are also being heavily worked into the costumes themselves. Some costumes are a hint in and of themselves, and others feature clues sewn directly onto the outfits. As Seitchik explains it, "Some costumes are a larger clue to who the people are based on the character itself. And then others have more specific objects. And it's really based on the design, whether the design necessitates putting objects and props within them."
One such example of the latter is Dust Bunny, below. EW can confirm that clues that appear somewhere on Dust Bunny include a toy car, glittery ice dancing costume material, a lollipop, an air freshener that hangs from a car's rearview mirror, and popcorn. Seitchik even teased that the clues could change throughout the season.
Yes! All-new themes include Miley Cyrus Night, Barbie Night, Footloose Night (which will feature a video appearance by star Kevin Bacon himself), Sports Night, '60s Night, and a first-of-its-kind Who Are You Fest, featuring music from memorable festival lineups. Thanksgiving Night and Soundtrack of My Life themes from past seasons will also return. As always, pay attention in the theme nights, because the themes will be woven throughout the performers' song selections, costumes, special celebrity guests, set design, and might even provide more clues as to who is under the mask.
Fox isn't unveiling all of the costumes just yet, but Chess Piece, Dust Bunny, Goo, Ship, Showbird, Woodpecker, and Leaf Sheep are confirmed. See the disguises in all their glory in EW's costume roundup.
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So far, Fox hasn't teased any accolades or clues for the new contestants -- outside of the costumes, that is. Stay tuned!