As the sixth season of The Masked Singer had not been confirmed by Channel 10, fans began to speculate that the show may not be returning in 2024.
“Network 10 will be packing away the masks and roses this year, confirming that The Masked Singer and The Bachelor franchises won’t appear in its program schedule,” a Channel 10 spokesman told news.com.au.
Both shows have been hosted by television presenter Osher Günsberg for past seasons, therefore the announcement that both shows would be cancelled for 2024 came hand-in-hand.
“The resting of The Masked Singer Australia and The Bachelor franchise will give Osher a moment to rest his voice which has worked overtime screaming ‘Take It Off’ and simultaneously dropping to a whisper to deliver the iconic line of ‘I’m sorry, but you did not receive a rose.'”
This news follows after comedian Dave Hughes, who has been a panelist on the show for the full five seasons, made an unexpected admission on live radio this morning.
“We’ve been waiting on a production schedule. That production schedule has not come through, so as far as I know, The Masked Singer won’t be filmed this year for Channel 10,” Hughes said on his show Hughesy, Ed and Erin on 2Day FM.
Hughes revealed that fellow panelist Abbie Chatfield and host Osher Günsberg were feeling “flat” as a result of the unfortunate news.
“I think it may come back, I don’t know when, but I’d say for the Channel 10 budget this year – doesn’t have enough money for it,” he said.
The Masked Singer requires lots of planning to secure international judges and talent – it also costs a lot of money to bring in these big-name celebrities, especially as not many Australian TV shows are able to.
TV Tonight had also reported that Warner Bros TV had been “gauging interest from rival networks” for the franchise just days before, therefore the confirmation that the show will not be returning was not unexpected.
