Advertisement

‘The Masked Singer’ Continues Production Despite 12 COVID Cases

Production on the upcoming season of Fox’s “The Masked Singer” continues, even as the network confirms that 12 cases of COVID-19 have been identified on set.

According to the Los Angeles County Public Health website, those 12 confirmed positive cases came at Red Studios Hollywood, where “The Masked Singer” is shooting its sixth season, set to air this fall.

More from Variety

“The safety of the entire cast and crew has been and will continue to be our number one priority,” Fox Entertainment said in a statement. “We work closely with local and state officials and the unions to ensure we have the safest environment possible.”

As first reported by Insider, production and tapings have not been impacted or halted, which Variety has also confirmed. “The Masked Singer” began production on the new season at the end of June, with production set to wrap next Wednesday, Aug. 11. This is the first season that audiences have returned to “The Masked Singer” since the COVID-19 pandemic began; but the audience size is smaller than it was pre-pandemic, and no one under 12 is admitted. According to Fox, audience members are required to show a negative COVID test and must share proof of vaccination before entering.

The 12 cases are said to be a mix of community exposure and a few that were listed as workplace exposure. The decision to keep “Masked Singer” in production comes as other shows have shut down in light of positive cases. The Hulu series “Woke” has now shut down three times after multiple positive tests on set.

The L.A. County site also reported that the Santa Clarita set of “S.W.A.T.” was hit with five positive cases.

The “Masked Singer” outbreak also comes following reports of other cases at entertainment industry facilities around Hollywood, as the delta variant causes a spike in cases in Los Angeles County.

That included six people testing positive at Motion Picture Industry Pension & Health Plan offices in Studio City, four at a NBCUniversal post production facility on the Universal lot, and three people at Endemol Shine North America’s North Hollywood offices.

Last winter, prior to returning to the set, “The Masked Singer” host Nick Cannon tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, which meant he wasn’t seen in the first several episodes of the hit Fox reality series’ fifth season. Instead, producers tapped actress and host Niecy Nash to fill in.

Since returning to production last summer, “The Masked Singer” maintained tight COVID protocols, and panelist Ken Jeong, who is a physician, has in particular kept an eye on how the show handled safety.

Last fall, Fox alternative president Rob Wade called the challenge to mount the show in COVID-19 times “as difficult as it gets. It’s hard. It’s hard for many, many, many reasons. But they have done a fantastic job. From the day we started lockdown, it’s been a process from how do we get back to filming in a safe way with high production values. It was incredibly challenging, creating music tracks and vocal coaching people remotely — incredibly difficult. And then creating the systems to ensure people are separated and safe when they’re on set, not allowing different areas of the crew to populate areas.”

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.