‘The Masked Singer’ is skipping the fall season ‘to regroup’
The Masked Singer's extended break is to give the producers and crew a breather.
During a conference call to discuss Fox's 2025-26 schedule, Fox CEO Rob Wade explained why the reality juggernaut is sitting out the fall season for the first time since the show's January 2019 debut. The Masked Singer wrapped up its 13th season last week and will return with Season 14 in January 2026.
"People forget that The Masked Singer was the first show back during COVID," Wade noted, adding that the lengths to get that season on the air in September 2020 were "incredibly taxing for that crew and that cast." The Masked Singer has continued to air twice a year since then.
But now, Wade said, it's time to give the team "breathing space to regroup and get their breath back" before launching Season 14 midseason.
SEE Why The Masked Singer is taking a longer-than-ever break after Season 13
The Masked Singer's Wednesdays at 9 time slot in the fall will be taken by the new game show 99 to Beat. Hosted by Erin Andrews and The Masked Singer panelist Ken Jeong, the show will see 100 contestants go head-to-head until one person is left standing for the $100,000 prize.
Fox's other new unscripted shows for the season are reboots of old NBC ones: Celebrity Weakest Link and Fear Factor: The Next Chapter. Jane Lynch, who was Emmy-nominated last year for hosting the regular Weakest Link on NBC, will also host the celebrity edition. Eight celebrities will compete to win up to $1 million for their charity of choice. Celebrity Weakest Link will air Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Fear Factor: The Next Chapter will air midseason and there is no word yet on whether original host Joe Rogan will be involved.
On the scripted front, Fox has ordered the crime thriller Memory of a Killer. Inspired by the 2003 Belgian film De Zaak Alzheimer (La Memoire Du Tueur), the series follows a hitman who develops early-onset Alzheimer's. The show joins the previously announced new one-hour comedy Best Medicine, starring Josh Charles, and the event series The Faithful.