The Masked Singer showrunner reveals how season 12 is 'a whole new level of gameplay' for fans

Twelve seasons in, and The Masked Singer is still finding ways to raise the stakes for viewers.

For instance, though the masked celebrity singing show has always toyed around with the idea of connections between contestants and their costumes, season 12 is the first time the series is going all in, even sewing clues directly into the disguises themselves.

As executive producer and showrunner Rosie Seitchik explains it: “We're always trying to level up with viewer participation and engagement and really helping to advance the gameplay, but I think viewers just keep getting smarter and more clever and they are so eager to play the game in different ways, that it really felt like this was the perfect time to up the ante and encourage people to look for bigger, better clues in even more unexpected places.”

A perfect example of this is Dust Bunny, which Entertainment Weekly is exclusively debuting below. EW can confirm that clues that appear somewhere on Dust Bunny include a toy car, glittery ice dancing costume material, a lollipop, an air freshener that hangs from a car's rearview mirror, and popcorn.

Seitchik is quick to point out that some of the clues may be on the back side of the costume pictured above. "It's a real 360-degree view for Dust Bunny. A dust bunny just rolls around and picks up objects after all, and [this costume] picks up clues to Dust Bunny's true identity," she says.

She also teases that some clues may come and go throughout the season: "We'll add and take away things as well just to keep everybody on their toes." However, not all of the costumes will feature as many overt clues as Dust Bunny. "It's a variation," says Seitchik. "Some costumes are a larger clue to who the people are based on the character itself. And then others have more specific objects. And it's really based on the design, whether the design necessitates putting objects and props within them... So no, not every single one has the Dust Bunny treatment, but Dust Bunny is that design that calls for it."

The upcoming season will feature 15 new costumes, and while Fox isn't unveiling all of them just yet, Chess Piece, Dust Bunny, Ship, Showbird, Woodpecker, and Leaf Sheep are confirmed. "There's such a brain trust for costumes every season, as you can imagine, it's an ongoing brainstorm and new and wacky ideas just keep going into the costume idea vault," says Seitchik. "And we go back in there every season and tap the weirdest possible ideas and animals and things and objects in the ether to bring to life." (Hence Leaf Sheep, which is a little-known but very real sea slug.)

Also for the first time ever, each contestant on the famous guessing game will have a Masked Ambassador — all alums of the series who have a connection to each singer and provide major new clues about their friends’ identities. Dick Van Dyke, Jewel, Ne-Yo, and DeMarcus Ware have been confirmed so far.

With 11 seasons to date, Masked Singer has had more than 180 famous faces compete on the show, which gave producers a wide net to cast when it came to choosing these ambassadors. Says Seitchik, "It was really the perfect time to start connecting people with all of the past star power of the series. And there's such an intricate web of relationships when you look at it, between past celebrities and new celebrities, and just like we've been trying to level up, this is the biggest clue yet is these relationships to past masked singers."

Seitchik is, of course, keeping some details about the Masked Ambassadors close to the vest, but will tease that they are "presenting the new singers to us in newfangled clue packages in their premiere episodes. I'll leave it at that for right now. But they're basically being ushered into the season via the endorsement of an old masked singer."

Of course, not everything is completely new — fans can expect host Nick Cannon and panelists Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, Robin Thicke and Rita Ora to appear once more. And theme nights are back, with all-new themes including Miley Cyrus Night, Barbie Night, Footloose Night (which will feature a video appearance by star Kevin Bacon himself), Sports Night, '60s Night, and a first-of-its-kind Who Are You Fest, featuring music from memorable festival lineups. Thanksgiving Night and Soundtrack of My Life themes from past seasons will also return.

Whether it's a fresh spin on old twists or all-new elements to the show, 12 seasons in, and The Masked Singer shows no signs of slowing down in terms of innovation or keeping things interesting for viewers. "I feel incredibly proud of the leveling up that the show has been able to do in terms of celebrity talent, the names, the voices, the characters that these celebrities bring to life in their costumes," says Seitchik. "The wow factor continues to live on. And I think as far as the new clues and upping the ante for the viewers, it's giving fans a whole new level of gameplay to engage in and really just shattering the status quo of the show."

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The Masked Singer unmasks its twelfth season beginning Wednesday, Sept. 25, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, on Fox.