TV Features

"The Masked Singer" Is Over: What's Next in Mind-Boggling Reality TV?

Imagine a show featuring Miley Cyrus teaching Nicolas Cage and Jenny McCarthy how to be vegan. Sounds like Fox network's next hit!

Miley Cyrus

Photo by Kobby Dagan (Shutterstock)

America's trust in television was broken long before NBC's The Masked Singer held up a mirror to our low standards for "expert judges" and our underlying fear of Teletubbies.

For the past two months, one of the top-rated shows on prime time has featured twelve has-been celebrities dressed as inbred Looney Toons. The singing competition is based on the Korean reality TV show with the same concept. Now that we know The Masked Singer will assault us with a second season next year, let's brace ourselves–the worst is yet to come.

Other hit Korean TV shows spotlight celebrities' moldy leftovers and strained parent-child relationships for the amusement of the masses. We're betting it's only a matter of time before one of these bizarre series debuts in the States.

1. Please Take Care of My Refrigerator

Ever want to see inside your favorite celebrity's refrigerator? Why would you? That's weird. Each episode of Please Take Care of My Refrigerator features eight of the country's best chefs and invites them into the guest star's kitchen, having them compete to create edible dishes using only the ingredients and old leftovers in the celebrity's refrigerators. They have 15 minutes. The celebrity then judges each dish and selects a winner. There is no apparent reward for winning, except for the chance to feed BTS' best boy, Jungkook.

For a US adaptation, we predict the E! network would milk this reality show for all its worth. Hosted by: Gordon Ramsay.

[ENG] Please Take Care of my Fridge BTS Cut_3rd Dish (Hot Braised Short Ribs)youtu.be

2. Dad! Where Are We Going?

Riffing off the common assumption that celebrities must be terrible parents, each episode features five celebrity fathers traveling or camping with their children. Sometimes they try to "cook" and other times they pull their hair out. We predict CBS would be the first to adopt this on account of its eagerness to exploit any celebrity for prime-time ratings (yes, we're talking about The World's Best).

[ENG SUB] Dad!Where are you going?-Hoo's 9th b-day party 후9살생일축하 20141221youtu.be

3. Human Condition

Six A-list actors are deprived of their phones, television, and the Internet as they live in a dorm for one week. But rather than being a simple Big Brother setup, each episode features a challenge imposing new restrictions, like not creating any trash or living on minimum wage. For a US version, we see this show on ABC. With moralizing shows like The Good Doctor and Grey's Anatomy but reality TV trash like The Bachelor, ABC would jump on the chance to teach celebrities about social issues like climate change while benefiting from their potential moral failures. Hosted by: Miley Cyrus

The Human Condition | 인간의 조건: Living on a Shoestring Budget – The First Episode (2014.12.03)youtu.be


4. The Return of Superman

It's another show banking on male celebrities being incapable of caring for their children. This time, celebrity fathers are left alone with their kids for 48 hours without any help from wives, family members, or the legion of celebrity nannies who keep Hollywood afloat. American actors like Steven Yeun have also guest-starred as "Uncles" left to take care of other's children on their own. NBC, America's publicist for family values, would love this shit.

[The Return of Superman] Steven Yeun's special way to feed a babyyoutu.be

5. Unpretty Rapstar

It's worse than it sounds. This music competition features aspiring female rappers competing against each other American Idol-style. Hosted by any mildly successful rapper, the show features challenges like diss battles and filming a one-take music video for an original song they've written and arranged themselves while on the show. Considering Fox's love of reality shows that sound wrong, the network probably has its eye on adapting this bad boy already. Hosted by: Iggy Azalea.

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TV Reviews

"The Masked Singer" Is America's Favorite Joke

With 10 million viewers tuning in, this Donnie Darko nightmare of a singing competition has claimed the ratings' top spot.

Nick Cannon at the America's Got Talent Judges Photocall

Photo by Kathy Hutchins (Shutterstock)

Every contestant on The Masked Singer is a cross between a Vegas showgirl and the monster under your childhood bed.

Keep ReadingShow less
FILM & TV

RECAP | The Voice Comes Back for Its 15th Season

Our favorite bickering Voice veterans Blake Shelton and Adam Levine are joined by Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson

It's hard to believe that The Voice is on its 15th season, but here we are.

The two hour season premiere boasted all of our favorite parts of the show — playful banter between the judges, tear-jerking sob stories by contestants, and of course, an epic episode finale with the revered four chair turn.

The episode starts off with a longer title sequence — a playful short that feature the judges as superheros being called for their jobs. We find Kelly Clarkson on tour, Jennifer Hudson in the studio, Blake Shelton on a porch, and finally, Adam Levine driving around in a vintage car. After that, we get a round-up of key events this season with an obvious emotional undertone of "chasing your dreams."

First up, we have Sarah Grace, a 15-year-old with synesthesia from Houston who loves the blues — she sang "Ball and Chain" by Janis Joplin and turned the first chair of the evening by Clarkson. Shelton and Hudson followed after, but Levine did not. After a scene of seemingly forced banter between the judges that was longer than the actual performance, Sarah Grace picked Clarkson.

We were also introduced to the "fifth judge," country singer Kelsea Ballerini, who will host The Comeback Stage — an online show that picks six artists that don't make it past the blind auditions to compete for a spot in the finals.

Next up, we have Tyshawn Colquitt from Cincinnati — he owns Pound4Sound with his mom, a business in which he delivers pound cake with a song. The 23-year-old sang "Like I Can" by Sam Smith and caught the eye of both Hudson and Shelton. In the end, he picked Hudson and gifted pound cake to all the judges.

After Colquitt left, Tyke James from Laie, Hawaii took the stage — the 17-year-old, laid back surfer dude sang "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran and signed with Levine, the only judge that turned. James was also met by weird, flirty remarks from Clarkson and Hudson.

Ayanna Joni, a 29-year-old from Yonkers, was the first no-turn contestant of the night. Joni had a career on the rise, but when pregnant with her daughter at 18, decided to focus on her child instead. The former girl group singer performed "Sorry Not Sorry" by Demi Lovato and was the first contestant chosen for The Comeback Stage.

Mercedes Ferreira-Dias already competed once last season — the 17-year-old from Miami came back to sing "She Used To Be Mine" by Sara Bareilles and turned both Shelton and Clarkson. In the end, she picked Shelton, but seemed to be under some pressure to.

We're then introduced to "blocks" — the practice that one judge can prohibit a contestant from choosing another one.

Next up is Radha, a 19-year-old from Jersey City who does live performances and music videos in her free time. She sings "Mamma Knows Best" by Jessie J and turns Levine first, who blocks Hudson even though she turns, and also Shelton. In the end, she picks Levine — but she tells us that she would've picked Hudson, which seems like the judges are playing with the dreams of these contestants.

In the second half, country singer Kameron Marlowe sings "One Number Away" by Luke Combs and turned both Clarkson and obviously, Shelton. In the end she picks Shelton, but Clarkson gets the next country singer, Mikele Buck who sang "She Used To Be Mine" by Brooks & Dunn.

Sam Hastings was the second no-turn of the evening, singing "Angela" by The Lumineers. Patrique Fortson then came on and performed "Get Here" by Oleta Adams and turned both Levine and Hudson. Having sang gospel since he was seven, Fortson picked Hudson.

The last spectacle of the night was 13 year old Kennedy Holmes who sang "Turning Tables" by Adele. Of course, she gets all four chairs turned and the audience has a field day watching the judges fight over her. In the end, Hudson plays the "get on stage and sing with the contestant" trick and gets Holmes on her team.

The Blind Auditions will continue tonight on NBC and you can watch this episode on their website.


Amber Wang is a freelancer for Popdust, Gearbrain and various other sites. She is also a student at NYU, a photographer and a marketing intern.


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