Courtesy of Abacus Media Rights
Further to its recent appointment as the international distribution partner (excluding the UK) for The Masked Singer UK, Abacus Media Rights (AMR), a member of the Amcomri Media Group, has now secured international distribution rights (excluding the UK) for the new entertainment series The Masked Dancer UK.
Available from late spring 2021, The Masked Dancer UK (7 x 90’) will be produced by Bandicoot Scotland, part of the Argonon group. Hosted by Joel Dommett, the celebrity panellists include renowned dancer and Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse, award-winning British broadcaster Jonathan Ross, much-loved TV presenter Davina McCall and British stand-up comedian Mo Gilligan.
The Masked Dancer UK will feature mystery celebrities performing unique dances whilst covered from head-to-toe in extravagant, colourful and elaborate costumes and masks, leaving audiences and the star panel to guess their identities. Costumed celebrities will step onto the dance floor joined by masked partners and back-up dancers, as they perform a series of dances together; spanning from ballet to ballroom, salsa to swing and everything in between. Each week, a series of clues will be sprinkled throughout the packages, leading the panellists one step closer to figuring out which famous faces are freestyling behind the masks.
Meanwhile, AMR has sold The Masked Singer UK to Virgin – Ireland, Game TV – Canada, BBC BRIT- South Africa, and Stöð 2 – Iceland with more deals in the pipeline.
The Masked Singer UK (8 x 90’) is a format originally imported from South Korea with local versions already airing in 30 territories. The first and second seasons of The Masked Singer UK, hosted by Joel Dommett, has featured celebrity panellists including global superstar Rita Ora, Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, US judge Ken Jeong and Mo Gilligan as well as special appearances on the panel from Alan Carr, Donny Osmond, Kelly and Sharon Osbourne among others. The series has recently crowned the winner for Best Entertainment at the Royal Television Society Awards 2021.
Jonathan Ford, Managing Director, AMR, comments, “We’re really excited to have the opportunity to offer The Masked Dancer UK from Bandicoot and Argonon to our clients in addition to the first two series of The Masked Singer UK. This unique concept appeals to viewers and to major artistes alike – it’s fun, bright and shiny entertainment for everyone. It also gives broadcasters a great opportunity to engage with their audiences through social channels to build interest around the show as it airs.”
Derek McLean and Daniel Nettleton from Bandicoot added: “The massive success of the first two series of The Masked Singer UK shows that viewers have taken TV’s greatest guessing game to their hearts. The Masked Dancer UK has all the mystery and mayhem of the original format and families once again will be desperate to find out who’s behind the mask!”
Founded in 2017 by Derek McLean and Daniel Nettleton in a joint venture with Argonon, the award-winning Bandicoot TV devises and produces entertainment and factual entertainment formats. In addition to producing two series of The Masked Singer UK for ITV, with the first season winning the prestigious RTS Programme Award – Entertainment and an RTS Craft & Design Award in 2020 for Costume Design – Entertainment & Non Drama, Bandicoot has been commissioned to produce ITV Hub series The Masked Singer: Unmasked. Other commissions have included two series of Test Drive for BBC Scotland for which it has been nominated in the entertainment category at the BAFTA Scotland Awards 2020, and Chase the Case, a 20-part series for BBC One. Bandicoot has a number of new projects in development.
The Masked Singer is the surreal and surprising guessing game that sees twelve famous faces compete to pull off their best performance, with their identity elaborately and imaginatively concealed behind the mask. Although they won’t be judged on their singing, the celebrities still need to give their best performance to avoid being eliminated and their identities revealed. As each celebrity sings, viewers are led in a quest to discover their identity by the superstar panel. The panel has to guess the masked singers’ identities before they are unmasked – and their true identity revealed – as they leave the competition.
