When performer, choreographer and veteran talent competition judge Paula Abdul received a call from Fox asking her to be part of “The Masked Dancer,” a spinoff to wacky competition show “The Masked Singer,” her first reaction was laughter.
“I’m like, ‘Oh, how brilliant is this,’” Abdul said. “And then I thought, wait a minute, this is going to be so damn hard.”
On “The Masked Singer,” based on the South Korean original, celebrity contestants perform in elaborate costumes as panelists try to guess the identities behind the masks.
“The Masked Dancer” uses a similar format, but instead celebrities — some with extensive training and others without — perform hip-hop, tap, salsa and other dance numbers as over-the-top characters including Sloth, Moth and Ice Cube. Returning panelist Ken Jeong and newcomers Brian Austin Green, Ashley Tisdale and Abdul make their guesses based almost solely on dance moves and clues sprinkled throughout the show, which premieres Sunday.